One of the biggest team-ups in telehealth just ended faster than Kim Kardashian’s marriage to Kris Humphries, and on equally bad terms. Novo Nordisk announced yesterday that it’ll stop offering Wegovy through Hims & Hers—less than two months into their partnership—claiming that the direct-to-consumer pharmacy is unlawfully selling knockoff weight loss drugs.
Rewind: When the FDA declared that the Ozempic/Wegovy shortage was over in February, it gave pharmacies (including Hims & Hers) until May 22 to stop selling “compounded,” aka copycat, versions of the patented, FDA-approved drugs. The agency only allows this practice when national supplies are dwindling, or for medically necessary personalizations (e.g., drug allergies).
Crashout: Novo Nordisk said Hims & Hers kept selling compounded, non-FDA-approved versions of Wegovy anyway under the “false guise” of personalization, which the company claims also amounts to “deceptive marketing” that risks patient safety. In response, Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum accused Novo of “misleading the public” and making “anticompetitive demands,” in a post on X. He also said Hims & Hers would keep dreaming offering Wegovy.
Zoom out: Hims & Hers’s stock plunged nearly 35% yesterday. This is also a bummer for Novo Nordisk, whose stock dipped more than 5% yesterday. The drugmaker has been trying to boost direct-to-consumer sales to better compete with Eli Lilly, which makes the weight loss injectable Mounjaro. Novo said it plans to keep offering Wegovy through other telehealth companies.—ML