Hims & Hers will offer access to the Wegovy obesity drug in injection and pill forms. – Novo Nordisk
Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk said it is teaming up with Hims & Hers Health to sell its weight-loss drugs through the telehealth company’s platform, bringing an end to a legal dispute between the two companies.
Hims & Hers shares jumped 38% Monday, while Novo Nordisk depositary shares were up 1.6%.
As part of the agreement, Hims & Hers will offer access to Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy obesity drug in injection and pill forms, the Danish drugmaker said Monday. Hims & Hers will also offer access to Wegovy’s sister medicine, Ozempic, for diabetes.
The drugs will go on sale later this month at Novo Nordisk’s self-pay prices. The prices range from $149 to $499 a month, depending on the drug and dosage.
Hims & Hers will no longer advertise compounded versions of GLP-1 drugs—the class of medicines to which Wegovy and Ozempic belong—on its platform, Novo Nordisk said. Compounded drugs are alternative versions of prescription drugs made by specialized pharmacies.
“Hims is one of the bigger players in e-health platforms and they had the ability to make their systems and sites and offerings attractive to thousands and thousands of people,” Novo Nordisk Chief Executive Mike Doustdar said in an interview. “That is attractive to us as a player. We would like to meet the patients where they are.”
Novo Nordisk said that it is dismissing its patent-infringement lawsuit against Hims & Hers in light of the agreement, but that it reserved the right to refile in the future.
Last month, Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Delaware accusing Hims & Hers of violating the patents covering its Ozempic and Wegovy drugs by trying to sell custom-made, lower-cost versions of those medicines.
The deal is the second between the companies, after a first agreement fell through.
Last April, the companies announced a partnership to make Wegovy available through Hims & Hers, but the deal fell apart in June after Novo Nordisk accused Hims & Hers of illegally selling cheaper compounded versions.
The animosity spiked again soon after Novo Nordisk began selling a pill version of Wegovy in January. Hims & Hers in February countered with a compounded pill version of the drug’s main ingredient, semaglutide, prompting Novo Nordisk’s lawsuit. Hims & Hers stopped selling the pill after federal officials announced steps to restrict it.