Hims & Hers: Former Novo Nordisk Executive Sees "Long Future" in Selling Copycat Weight Loss Drugs and Joins the Board

Hims & Hers Health Inc. is adding Kåre Schultz, the longtime Novo Nordisk A/S executive, to its board after the company entered the booming weight-loss drug market, Bloomberg reports.

Schultz, who spent more than 25 years at Novo Nordisk, including stints as president, vice CEO and COO, said in an interview that Hims has a "long future" in selling so-called compounded versions of blockbuster weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound, according to Bloomberg.

Shortages of brand-name drugs from Novo and Eli Lilly & Co. have allowed pharmacies to essentially make copies - and telemedicine companies like Hims sell them to patients at deeply discounted prices. When Hims announced in May that it would offer a copycat version of Wegovy, its market capitalization jumped nearly $900 million in a single day of trading.

"In my long career in the pharmaceutical industry, this is the first company to use today's modern tools to really break down barriers," said Schultz, who is also former CEO of generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Compounded drugs are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and are not subject to the same oversight as branded or generic drugs. Given concerns about their safety and quality, Schultz said he is "fully confident that patients can trust Hims' medicines." "This is a highly ethical company," he added.

The question remains, however, whether pharmacies will be able to continue compounding medications once the shortages of brand-name drugs end. Schultz said he's not worried about that because there will continue to be situations where people need "individualized" prescriptions for medications.
On Friday, Hims said it was voluntarily cooperating with an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, but declined to give details on what the investigation is about.

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