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- Novo Nordisk will sell Wegovy and Ozempic via Hims & Hers' platform.
- The deal ends a lawsuit over Hims' $49 compounded alternative to Wegovy.
- Hims' shares rose 48% premarket; Novo cut prices to compete with Eli Lilly.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Novo Nordisk has agreed to sell its blockbuster Wegovy and Ozempic drugs through U.S. telehealth company Hims & Hers' platform, the Danish drugmaker said on Monday, ending a legal dispute that erupted last month.
The deal marks a turnaround from February, when Novo sued Hims over a $49 compounded alternative to its Wegovy weight-loss pill.
Novo is grappling with telehealth firms offering cheaper compounded copycat versions of its obesity treatments.
Under the agreement, effective later this month, Hims customers will gain access to U.S. regulatory-approved Ozempic and Wegovy injectables, as well as the Wegovy pill, at Novo's self-pay prices.
Novo CEO Mike Doustdar said the Wegovy pill had generated more than 600,000 prescriptions since its launch two months ago, with telehealth partnerships accelerating uptake.
Hims' shares were up nearly 48% in premarket trading.
Competition drives price cuts
Novo faces stiff U.S. competition from Eli Lilly. To boost sales, Novo has cut prices for its weight-loss drugs from about $1,000 per month to $149-$299 on its websites.
Doustdar said lower pricing was a key part of the partnership, telling Reuters that "authentic products are now very similarly priced as the compounded ones."
The deal follows a warning last week from U.S. regulators to 30 telehealth companies over misleading promotions of compounded drugs from the GLP-1 class that includes Wegovy and Ozempic. The Food and Drug Administration said some firms falsely equated compounded products with approved medications.
Hims CEO Andrew Dudum said the partnership with Novo followed Hims' decision to shift its U.S. weight-loss business away from compounded GLP-1 drugs and toward branded, FDA-approved treatments, reflecting what he said was rising demand for a wider range of lower-cost options.
"That's where we see growth in the business," Dudum told Reuters.
Novo said it was withdrawing the lawsuit "while reserving the right to refile."
Hims will no longer advertise compounded GLP-1 drugs, though it will continue offering them when providers deem it clinically necessary.
"Glad to see HIMS will stop advertising unapproved compounded drugs and instead sell FDA-approved products through its new partnership with Novo Nordisk. Importantly, they will keep them affordable (no increase in price) and limit compounded GLP-1s for rare (FDA compliant) cases," FDA Commissioner Marty Makary wrote in a social media post.
Novo ended a similar agreement last year over concerns about compounded drug marketing and sales.
Contributing: Sriparna Roy
