Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform primarily aimed at millennials, announced on Monday that Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, has joined its board of directors. Schultz brings over 25 years of experience from Novo Nordisk, where he held various leadership roles, including president and chief operating officer. He is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed enthusiasm for Hims & Hers, stating, “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.” He emphasized the company’s potential to disrupt the healthcare industry.
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers stock increased by 3% during Monday morning trading and has risen 125% since the start of the year.
This news comes shortly after Hims & Hers began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s well-known diabetes and weight loss medications, Ozempic and Wegovy. The company prices a month’s supply of the compounded weight loss medication at $199, significantly less than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 cost and Wegovy’s $1,349.
The high demand and limited availability of these expensive brand-name drugs have led several telehealth platforms to offer compounded alternatives, utilizing a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of these medications when they are in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an FDA-approved drug by licensed pharmacists or physicians to suit individual patient needs.
While the FDA typically prohibits compounding medications that reproduce commercially available drugs, those identified as being in shortage do not fall under this restriction. In conversation with Bloomberg on Monday, Schultz expressed confidence in the long-term potential of compounded semaglutide, indicating that there will still be situations requiring tailored prescriptions for patients even after shortages are resolved.