By Sriparna Roy
(Reuters) -Novo Nordisk said on Tuesday it was partnering with telehealth firms Hims & Hers, Ro and LifeMD to sell branded versions of Wegovy, ahead of potential restrictions on selling compounded versions of the obesity drug.
This is an expansion of Novo’s efforts to offer Wegovy to cash-paying customers. The drug was previously available through local pharmacies and Novo’s direct-to-consumer pharmacy, called the NovoCare Pharmacy program.
Patients will now be able to access Wegovy through the telehealth platforms.
“We are seeing (more and more) patients receiving access to care for obesity through telehealth, and we wanted to make sure that we could be there and provide real Wegovy at the same place that they are receiving care,” Dave Moore, executive vice president, U.S. Operations and president of Novo Nordisk told Reuters.
The move comes at a time when bulk compounding of obesity treatments is likely to be significantly curtailed.
A U.S. judge on Thursday rejected a bid by compounding pharmacies to keep making copies of Novo’s popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, while a legal challenge over drug shortages was underway.
Several telehealth companies were allowed to sell cheaper copies of Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo’s Wegovy when they were in shortage. The branded drugs have since been removed from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s shortage list.
“This should also be a very clear message that we have full supply of Wegovy … we want everyone to know that all doses are available,” said Moore.
In March, Novo Nordisk launched NovoCare to supply the drug at a reduced cost of $499 for self-paying patients. Later that month, it extended the offer to all eligible cash-paying customers at their local pharmacy.
Customers will be able to access NovoCare Pharmacy through a bundled offering, starting at $599 monthly, which includes a membership and access to all Wegovy doses, Hims & Hers said, adding that the offering will be available this week.
Hims & Hers’ shares jumped 29.9% to $36.90 in premarket trading.
The company will still continue to offer personalized compounded versions of semaglutide on its platform, Hims’ CEO Andrew Dudum said.
“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,” said Ro’s CEO Zach Reitano.
Ro in December began offering single-dose vials of Zepbound and was directly integrated with Eli Lilly’s direct-to-consumer website.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
