CEO Andrew Dudum said Novo Nordisk had been pushing Hims & Hers to favor Wegovy over its own compounded weight loss drugs
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The CEO of Hims & Hers is defending the telehealth company's practice of selling cheap weight loss drugs, and vowing to continue after Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk abruptly ended a partnership between the two firms and accused Hims & Hers of "deceptive promotion."
Novo Nordisk said Monday that it was ending its partnership with Hims & Hers, accusing it of "deceptive promotion and selling of illegitimate, knockoff versions" of its weight loss drug Wegovy.
“We’re upset that Novo is feeling the pressure and not comfortable, but ultimately, I think us holding strong to fighting on behalf of customers is just who we are,” Hims & Hers chief Andrew Dudum told Bloomberg on Tuesday. “There’s just no way in hell we’re going to cave on that, no matter who the pharma company is or what the partnership looks like.”
The termination, which means Wegovy will not longer be available on Hims & Hers, sent Hims & Hers stock plummeting, with shares falling almost 35% on Monday.
Novo Nordisk, the Danish pharmaceutical giant behind the weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, said Hims & Hers "has failed to adhere to the law which prohibits mass sales of compounded drugs under the false guise of 'personalization' and are disseminating deceptive marketing that put patient safety at risk."
"Novo Nordisk is firm on our position and protecting patients living with obesity," Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk's executive vice president for U.S. operations, said in a statement. "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. 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."
Dudum told Bloomberg that Novo Nordisk had been pushing Hims & Hers to favor Wegovy over its own compounded weight loss drugs.
“They were pushing us to a degree that was uncomfortable,” Dudum said. “They’ve been losing a tremendous amount of market share, there’s been a huge amount of turmoil with management, and I think they’re just under real financial strain to try to drive sales.”
Hims & Hers announced in April that it would begin offering Wegovy on its platform, with a price point starting at $599.
“Bringing our teams together and continuing to explore our shared commitment and focus on delivering the future of healthcare has been inspiring,” Dudum said in a statement about the Novo Nordisk partnership at at the time. “We share a vision of what consumer-centered healthcare looks like, and this is just the first step towards delivering that future.”
Novo Nordisk framed deals with Hims & Hers and with other telehealth platforms as a way to expand its customer base as the federal government cracks down on compounded versions of Wegovy. Pharmacies can make customized versions of drugs that are considered by the Food and Drug Administration to be in shortage, but the FDA declared in February that the semaglutide shortage was over. Pharma companies including Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly $LLY have taken legal action against compounding pharmacies since then.
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