Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform aimed at millennials, announced the appointment of Kåre Schultz, a former executive at Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors on Monday.
Schultz has over 25 years of experience at Novo Nordisk, renowned for its diabetes and obesity treatments, where he held various positions, including president and chief operating officer. He currently serves as 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.”
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers saw its stock price rise by 3%, reflecting a remarkable 125% increase since the start of the year.
This development comes shortly after Hims & Hers began offering a compounded version of semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular diabetes and weight-loss medications Ozempic and Wegovy, both manufactured by Novo Nordisk. The company is pricing a month’s supply of the weight-loss drug at $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 and Wegovy’s $1,349 prices.
Due to the limited availability of these expensive brand-name medications, several telehealth platforms have sought to capitalize on a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded versions of drugs in shortage. Compounding entails customizing an approved medication by a licensed pharmacist or physician to meet individual patient needs.
While the FDA generally prohibits the compounding of drugs that are merely copies of commercially available medications, those that are in shortage are not classified as such. Schultz indicated to Bloomberg on Monday that Hims & Hers sees a “long future” in selling compounded semaglutide. When questioned about the potential for pharmacies to continue compounding semaglutide after shortages are resolved, Schultz noted that there would still be circumstances where individualized prescriptions are necessary.