Telehealth firm to sell Eli Lilly weight-loss drug on Hims & Hers platform

Bengaluru — Telehealth firm Hims & Hers Health said on Tuesday it plans to sell Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug as it widens its offerings to offset any impact from impending restrictions on selling copies of Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug.

Shares of Hims & Hers closed 5.1% higher after the company said it would expand its weight-loss offerings with branded versions of Lilly’s tirzepatide — the active ingredient in weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes medicine Mounjaro — and generics of Novo’s diabetes drug, liraglutide.

Hims & Hers offers both branded and cheaper versions of Novo’s weight-loss drug Wegovy.

“The increased level of product availability broadens Hims’ weight loss offerings, which is a positive, though we do note that the Zepbound is being sold at a fairly expensive price point of $1,899 a month,” said Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny.

The addition of Lilly’s drugs on Hims & Hers’ platform should help widen the company’s customer funnel while it contends with the end of the shortage of Novo’s drugs, Cherny said.

Hims & Hers stock has slumped 40% since the US FDA on February 21 removed Novo Nordisk’s top-selling Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic, both known chemically as semaglutide, from its shortage list.

Their tight supply had allowed Hims & Hers and others to sell cheaper versions of Novo’s semaglutide.

Hims & Hers said in February it cannot guarantee to continue to sell compounded semaglutide “in the same manner, to the same extent, or at all”.

The FDA said in March that state-licensed compounding pharmacies and outsourcing facilities — which make compounded drugs in bulk — have until April 22 and May 22 respectively, or until the court decides on the injunction, to stop making Wegovy copies, whichever comes later.

Lilly said in a statement that Zepbound can be prescribed by any licensed healthcare professional, adding that it has no affiliation with Hims & Hers.

Reuters