Shares of Hims & Hers Health soared more than 34% in premarket trading on Tuesday after Novo Nordisk announced a partnership with the telehealth company to expand access to its popular weight loss drug Wegovy.
Novo’s stock also rose 3% as the Danish drugmaker revealed it will now work with Hims & Hers, Ro, and LifeMD to distribute Wegovy directly to patients in the United States.
The new strategy comes amid a broader push by Novo Nordisk to regain control of the weight loss drug market as compounding pharmacies—a cheaper and more accessible workaround during periods of short supply—face growing regulatory scrutiny and restrictions.
It also follows rival Eli Lilly & Co.’s partnership with Ro to offer its obesity drug Zepbound at a lower price, starting at $349 per month.
In contrast, Lilly has no formal partnership with Hims & Hers, which offers Zepbound independently on its platform for $1,899 per month, including a membership fee.
Hims & Hers (HIMS) bolsters offering amid rising competition
Hims & Hers said it will begin offering all dosage sizes of Wegovy this week, including access to continuous clinical support, with pricing starting at $599 per month.
CEO Andrew Dudum said the partnership would provide an example of how patients can gain convenient, quality access to breakthrough treatments.
The company had earlier sold compounded versions of semaglutide but began scaling back those offerings as regulatory clarity emerged and supplies of the branded drug normalized.
“That was one of the first things we shared with Novo is that we will always fight on behalf of what consumers we believe have the right to get,” Dudum said. “The regulation is very clear.”
While Hims & Hers is now formally partnered with Novo Nordisk, its relationship with Eli Lilly, which makes the competing drug Zepbound, is less official.
Hims & Hers began offering Zepbound and Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro on its platform earlier this month.
However, Lilly later clarified that it has “no affiliation” with the company, even though Zepbound is also being distributed through telehealth rival Ro at a significantly lower price point of $349 per month.
Shift from compounded drugs to branded access
Novo Nordisk’s move reflects a change in market conditions.
A year ago, demand for GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy far outstripped supply, prompting many patients to turn to compounded versions made by smaller pharmacies.
These compounded semaglutide products filled the gap but faced criticism from drugmakers and regulators, as they are not FDA-approved and may vary in safety or efficacy.
Now that Wegovy is no longer in short supply in the US, Novo Nordisk is working to shift patients back to the branded product by leveraging the reach and convenience of telehealth services.
“We felt it was really important to work hard to establish a collaboration with telehealth companies so that there could be access to Wegovy as the compounding is winding down,” Dave Moore, executive vice president of US operations at Novo Nordisk, told CNBC.
Through this model, patients will be able to access the drug via NovoCare—Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer online pharmacy—integrated into the telehealth platforms.
The price through NovoCare will be $499 per month for cash-paying customers, while prices through telehealth firms may be higher due to additional services like 24/7 care and nutritional counseling.
Analysts expect a fierce battle for market share
GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, and Zepbound have become one of the most sought-after categories in modern medicine, initially for diabetes but now increasingly for weight loss.
Analysts widely expect them to become some of the highest-grossing drug classes globally.
With compounding on the decline and branded supply improving, the competition between Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly is likely to intensify, especially as both companies lean on telehealth platforms to reach patients directly.
However, medical experts have urged caution, warning that easy access through online pharmacies must be balanced with safeguards to ensure proper usage and oversight.
Novo Nordisk’s latest telehealth push is designed to make that access easier but more controlled.
As Moore put it, the goal is to “catch people as they come off compounded medicine” and bring them into a more regulated environment.
For now, investors appear to back the strategy.
As Hims & Hers scales up branded offerings and integrates deeper with pharmaceutical partners, its role as a gateway for blockbuster drugs may only grow.
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