Pharma giant Novo Nordisk is partnering with telehealth companies to expand access to its blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy.
Patients will be able to access the branded GLP-1 drug, at a discount, through the company's online pharmacy, NovoCare Pharmacy, directly through the telehealth platforms of Hims & Hers, LifeMD and Ro.
With the partnerships, Novo appears to have struck a truce with Hims & Hers after the two sparred over the telehealth company's practice of selling compounded versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic drugs.
In January, Hims & Hers aired a Super Bowl ad that featured a montage of junk food, abdominal fat, statistics about the health risks of obesity and Big Pharma's high prices. The ad then promoted Hims & Hers' weight loss products, including compounded GLP-1 medications, as an alternative to pricey branded GLP-1s such as Ozempic and Wegovy.
Novo Nordisk hit back almost immediately, placing an ad in The New York Times and USA Today called "Check Before You Inject." A company spokesperson said at the point that the ad was a "direct response" to the Hims & Hers' Super Bowl commercial.
Shares of Hims & Hers and LifeMD both skyrocketed Tuesday following the news. Hims & Hers' stock jumped 30% in premarket trading and stayed at 23% by market close. Shares of LifeMD jumped 40% Tuesday.
“We’re excited to work with Novo Nordisk, a company known for breakthrough innovation in clinical medicine and a strong portfolio of medications,” said Andrew Dudum, CEO and founder of Hims & Hers, in a statement. “Bringing our teams together and continuing to explore our shared commitment and focus on delivering the future of healthcare has been inspiring. We share a vision of what consumer-centered healthcare looks like, and this is just the first step towards delivering that future.”
Hims & Hers and Novo also said the two companies are collaborating beyond the Wegovy partnership but didn't provide details on long-term plans.
“Beyond this initial collaboration, the companies are developing a roadmap that combines Novo Nordisk’s innovative medications with Hims & Hers’ ability to deliver access to quality care at scale, with the goal of improving long-term outcomes for more people living with chronic disease, and doing that more affordably," Dave Moore, executive vice president, U.S. operations and president of Novo Nordisk, said in a statement.
CenterWell Pharmacy is the dispensing pharmacy managing prescription fulfillment and delivery for NovoCare Pharmacy.
Hims & Hers and other telehealth companies took a hit when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that semaglutide was no longer in short supply, making it ineligible for compounding. Manufacturers of compounded semaglutide and some telehealth players had built up a market selling cheaper alternatives to branded weight loss drugs.
The U.S. allows compounding pharmacies to manufacture close approximations of branded drugs when the reference drug is in shortage. The FDA's announcement that the shortage was resolved means compounding of semaglutide will no longer be permitted under current regulations.
With cheaper versions of Wegovy no longer available, the Danish drugmaker sees an opportunity to reach those patients as demand for weight loss drugs continues to grow.
“Wegovy continues to be in high demand as there are 100 million Americans living with obesity. We believe patients living with this chronic disease who want and need treatment under the care of a licensed healthcare professional, including those embracing the growing telehealth community, deserve to get the real thing,” said Moore.
“Making Wegovy available via these telehealth channels, with its clinically-tested weight loss in its premium pen delivery device, is an important step forward in allowing patients to receive care in the way they choose and helping them to achieve their weight loss goals with an authentic FDA-approved medicine," Moore said.
The pharma company launched its online pharmacy in March to offer a direct-to-patient channel for selling its weight loss drugs. Self-paying consumers can buy Wegovy for $499 per month through NovoCare Pharmacy.
Hims & Hers is offering a $599 bundled monthly subscription that includes access to 24/7 care, ongoing clinical support and nutrition guidance as well as prescriptions for all doses of Wegovy for weight management through the pharma company's NovoCare Pharmacy.
LifeMD will now offer Wegovy to self-paying consumers for $499 a month. The company says its weight management program includes virtual consultations, lab testing, diet and lifestyle support and home delivery of prescription medications.
Consumers can also access Wegovy at a $499 a month cash price through online health and wellness company Ro. The company offers telehealth, lab and pharmacy services. Ro's Body Membership provides patients with obesity care including access to a licensed physician, 24/7 messaging, one-on-one coaching, educational content, weight tracking and dose logging, labs, side effect monitoring and monthly check-ins, according to the company.
"Fighting for patients means making it as easy and affordable as possible to access high-quality treatment, and that's exactly what integrating with NovoCare Pharmacy offers patients," said Zach Reitano, co-founder and CEO of Ro. "Adding Novo Nordisk's FDA-approved treatments at the best available cash price will help more patients nationwide get the obesity care they need to achieve their goals, particularly those without insurance coverage."
Novo Nordisk joins fellow pharma giant Eli Lilly in its efforts to expand direct-to-consumer access to its GLP-1 drugs. Eli Lilly launched its own direct-to-consumer telehealth offering for weight loss, called Lilly Direct, in January 2024. Lilly has since inked partnerships with Ro, LifeMD and Teladoc Health to offer more convenient access to Zepbound at a lower cost.
Digital healthcare company Noom also has an agreement with LillyDirect's self-pay pharmacy Gifthealth to offer access to Zepbound single-dose vials for Noom’s members with an on-label prescription from their physician. And, Tuesday, WeightWatchers announced a pharmacy integration with Lilly's Gifthealth pharmacy to streamline access to Zepbound.