The telehealth platform Hims & Hers, which targets the millennial demographic, announced on Monday the appointment of Kåre Schultz, a veteran executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors.
Schultz has a lengthy tenure of over 25 years at Novo Nordisk, a renowned Danish pharmaceutical company specializing in diabetes and obesity treatments, where he held various roles including president and chief operating officer. He is currently the chief executive officer of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his enthusiasm for joining Hims & Hers, stating, “Hims & Hers is on a trajectory to upend the healthcare industry. In my long career in the pharmaceutical industry, 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.”
Following this announcement, Hims & Hers shares rose by 3% in morning trading and have surged 125% since the start of the year.
This news follows Hims & Hers’ recent introduction of a compounded version of semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in the well-known diabetes and weight loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, both manufactured by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers is offering a one-month supply of this weight loss drug for $199, significantly lower than the nearly $1,000 list price of Ozempic and the $1,349 price of Wegovy.
The scarcity of these high-demand brand-name medications has led various telehealth companies to utilize a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded versions of drugs that are in shortage. Compounding involves tailoring an approved medication by a state-licensed pharmacist or physician to address the specific needs of an individual patient.
Although the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act generally prohibits the compounding of medications that are merely replicas of available commercial drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not consider drugs in shortage to be commercially available.
Schultz conveyed to Bloomberg on Monday that he envisions a “long future” for the company in the sale of compounded semaglutide. When questioned about the future availability of compounded semaglutide after shortages are resolved, he expressed confidence, noting that there will continue to be cases necessitating individualized prescriptions.