Hims & Hers, a telehealth platform focused on millennials, announced on Monday the appointment of Kåre Schultz, a veteran executive from Novo Nordisk, to its board of directors.
Schultz has over 25 years of experience with the Danish pharmaceutical company, known for its diabetes and obesity treatments, where he held various positions including president and chief operating officer. He is currently the CEO of Teva Pharmaceutical.
In a press release, Schultz expressed his excitement about joining 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 added that he looks forward to contributing to the company’s journey.
Following the announcement, Hims & Hers stock rose by 3% during morning trading and has increased by 125% since the start of the year.
This news follows Hims & Hers’ recent launch of a compounded version of semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in popular weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, both manufactured by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers is offering a month’s supply of this medication for $199, significantly lower than Ozempic’s nearly $1,000 list price and Wegovy’s $1,349 cost.
The high demand and limited supply of these brand-name drugs have led several telehealth platforms to exploit a provision in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that permits the sale of compounded medications in shortage. Compounding involves customizing an approved drug to meet an individual patient’s needs and is performed by state-licensed pharmacists or physicians.
While the act generally restricts compounding of drugs that are identical to commercially available ones, the FDA does not classify drugs that are in short supply as available. Schultz mentioned to Bloomberg that the company envisions a “long future” in providing compounded semaglutide and emphasized that individualized prescriptions would continue to be necessary beyond the current shortages.