Novo Nordisk ends collaboration with Hims & Hers for discounted weight loss meds
Novo Nordisk said Monday it will end its collaboration with Hims & Hers that offered the weight loss medication Wegovy for patients who have a prescription for the medication but no insurance coverage for it.
When the collaboration between Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers was announced in April, Wegovy was made available on Hims through Novo Nordisk’s NovoCare Pharmacy for a discounted price of $499 per month, in addition to Hims' monthly subscription fee. Hims has also continued to sell "personalized" doses of compounded semaglutide -- the main active ingredient in Wegovy -- for $165 per month, according to its website.
Wegovy is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for weight loss in people with obesity or who are overweight with additional risks for cardiovascular disease.
In explaining the decision to end the collaboration, Novo Nordisk alleged that Hims & Hers' has continued to offer compounded versions of Wegovy "under the false guise of 'personalization.'"
"Novo Nordisk is firm on our position and protecting patients living with obesity. When patients are prescribed semaglutide treatments by their licensed healthcare professional or a telehealth provider, they are entitled to receive authentic, FDA-approved and regulated Wegovy," Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk's executive vice president of U.S. Operations, said in a news release Monday. "We will work with telehealth companies to provide direct access to Wegovy that share our commitment to patient safety -- and when companies engage in illegal sham compounding that jeopardizes the health of Americans, we will continue to take action."
Hims & Hers' CEO Andrew Dudum said in a statement shared on X that the platform intends to continue to provide Wegovy for patients.
"We are disappointed to see Novo Nordisk management misleading the public. In recent weeks, Novo Nordisk’s commercial team increasingly pressured us to control clinical standards and steer patients to Wegovy regardless of whether it was clinically best for patients. We refuse to be strong-armed by any pharmaceutical company’s anticompetitive demands that infringe on the independent decision making of providers and limit patient choice," Dudum said. "We take our role of protecting the ability of providers and patients to control individual treatment decisions extremely seriously, and will not compromise the integrity of our platform to appease a third party or preserve a collaboration. The health and wellness of individuals always comes first.
He continued, "We will continue to offer access to a range of treatments, including Wegovy, to ensure providers can serve the individual needs of patients."
Hims & Hers did not immediately reply to ABC News’ request for further clarification about Wegovy remaining available on the platform.
A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk told ABC News they have no additional comment.
Compound drugs are copies of FDA-approved medications. They are made by licensed pharmacies, but not approved or inspected by the FDA.
Drug compounding is allowed when drugs are on the FDA's shortage list, or in circumstances when a patient can't take a version of a drug made by a pharmaceutical company and they need an alternative.
In recent months, Eli Lilly, the maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro, and Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, have each said they are able to meet the demand for the medications after facing shortages since 2022 due to the drugs' growing popularity.
The FDA has declared the shortages as "resolved," removing the drugs from its shortage list.
Last week, a federal judge in Texas upheld the FDA's decision to remove semaglutide from the shortage list, blocking compounding pharmacies from making copies of Wegovy and Ozempic, according to court documents.
