Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform targeting millennials, announced on Monday the addition of Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors. Schultz brings over 25 years of experience from the Danish pharmaceutical company, which is renowned for its diabetes and obesity treatments. He is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his belief that Hims & Hers has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry. He noted, “This is the first company I have seen that is leveraging today’s modern tools to truly break down barriers and change the status quo of how people access the health solutions they need to live their fullest lives. I’m thrilled to be a part of this journey.”
The announcement coincided with a 3% increase in Hims & Hers stock during Monday morning trading, marking a 125% rise since the start of the year.
This development follows Hims & Hers’ recent decision to offer customers a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the well-known diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, produced by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers is selling a month’s supply of this weight loss medication for $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s list price of nearly $1,000 and Wegovy’s price of $1,349.
The limited availability of these high-demand brand-name drugs has prompted various telehealth platforms to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that allows for the sale of compounded versions of medications that are in shortage. Compounding involves modifying an approved drug by a licensed pharmacist or physician based on the individual needs of a patient.
While the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act generally prohibits the compounding of drugs that are identical to commercially available medications, the FDA does not consider drugs in shortage to be commercially available. Schulz indicated to Bloomberg that the company has a long-term strategy for selling compounded semaglutide and expressed confidence that pharmacies would continue to produce it for patients who require personalized prescriptions, even after shortages are resolved.