By Amina Niasse
NEW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Online telehealth company Hims and Hers Health on Thursday began offering a much cheaper $49 compounded version of Novo Nordisk’s new Wegovy weight-loss pill in a move that expands sales to many Americans but could undercut Novo’s and Eli Lilly’s plans for the consumer market.
The news touched off a swift reaction on Wall Street as investors sold off Novo and Lilly shares, and the Danish drugmaker promised a legal challenge to the move by Hims. Novo shares fell 8.6%, while Lilly was off 6%.
Hims’ pricing, $49 for the first month and $99 afterwards for those who purchase a five-month plan, makes their GLP-1 drug as affordable as monthly internet or streaming services in the U.S. It can offer access to treatment for many more of the estimated 200 million Americans who are overweight or obese.
It is $100 less than Novo, which launched its pill in January at $149 for first-time users and $199 after that. Lilly is expected to launch its pill in April and has promised the Trump Administration affordable pricing including on its new TrumpRx site.
Hims’ move came after Novo warned on Wednesday that pricing pressure was unprecedented for its weight-loss medicines and dropped its full-year forecast. Novo shares on Thursday hit their lowest level since July 2021.
NOVO SAYS ITS PILL IS UNIQUE
Novo CEO Mike Doustdar in a meeting with investors on Thursday said people spending $49 on a Hims’ pill would be wasting their money and that Novo’s pill uses unique technology that aids in the absorption of the medicine.
Novo spokeswoman Ambre James-Brown described Hims’ mass compounding as illegal. “Novo Nordisk will take legal and regulatory action to protect patients, our intellectual property and the integrity of the U.S. gold-standard drug approval framework,” she said.
A Hims spokesperson said it has not compromised on safety or efficacy and that the company uses a technology based on liposomes that is intended to support absorption.
Analysts questioned if customers would get similar results on the cheaper pill but said it could drive a price war if compounders can provide an oral drug in large quantities.
Hims has been tussling with Novo since it was allowed in 2023 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell versions of Novo’s GLP-1 injectible drugs while the branded medicines were in short supply. Since then, it has made “personalized” copies of the branded drugs at different doses or regimens than those available from Novo and other drug companies.
These drugs are not FDA approved and are subject to limited agency oversight. They also do not go through clinical trials to prove efficacy. Novo’s Wegovy pill showed weight loss of more than 16% in trials.
“The status quo for months now has been a compounder can create a copycat version of a branded drug, so long as they make some kind of minor tweak that they believe or they argue benefits specific patient groups,” said TD Cowen analyst Michael Nedelcovych.
HIMS MAKES CASE FOR MORE CHOICE
Hims said the treatment can be tailored for patients aiming to mitigate side effects or who prefer a pill over the injectable option. Semaglutide is the main ingredient in the new Wegovy pill as well as injectable Wegovy and Ozempic.
“We’re excited to find ways to continue bringing branded treatments to the platform across specialties. More choice on the platform is the best thing for customers everywhere,” said Hims CEO Andrew Dudum in a statement.
Novo and Hims had a partnership in 2025 allowing the telehealth company to offer injectable Wegovy, but the two companies walked away with Novo saying Hims had wrongfully marketed versions of its medicine. Dudum accused Novo of attempting to control how clinicians at Hims make decisions.
By tailoring its offering for patients with side effects or an aversion to needles, Gaston Kroub, a patent lawyer in New York, said Hims is positioning the oral product as another personalized option, widening the scope of personalization under the FDA’s framework.
“HIMS has shown a willingness to go as close to the line as possible,” he said. “It’s a strategy of saying, ‘All right, if we pop our head over the barbed wire fence, is anybody going to take a shot?’”
Novo launched the drug in the beginning of January and has seen strong demand in the U.S., where it is available on its cash-pay direct-to-consumer website.
Novo Chief Financial Officer Karsten Munk Knudsen told Reuters on Wednesday that the drugmaker is frustrated by continued mass marketing of compounded drugs, and said it was up to the U.S. regulator and politicians to address this.
The FDA in September issued a warning to Hims regarding its marketing of compounded semaglutide, stating claims like “same active ingredient as Ozempic and Wegovy” are misleading, as compounded drugs are not FDA-approved.
LILLY PILL IS NEXT UP
In addition to U.S. pricing pressure, Novo is girding for competition from Eli Lilly on the oral weight-loss front as the Indianapolis-based drugmaker expects to launch its own pill in the second quarter.
Some analysts said Lilly’s pill, an experimental GLP-1, could be a next target for compounded copies. Compounding, in which pharmacies mix ingredients for specialized medicines or to copy a drug but at different dosages, has flourished as Americans chase cheaper prices for drugs.
Hims declined to comment on the drug. Lilly did not have an immediate comment.
In 2025, Hims doubled the size of its facility in New Albany, Ohio. The company said on Thursday the expansion allows Hims to provide treatments at a lower price.
(Reporting by Amina Niasse; additional reporting by Maggie Fick in London and Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; Editing by Caroline Humer, Stephen Coates, Lisa Shumaker and Bill Berkrot)
