Hims & Hers Challenges Novo Nordisk with Cheaper Wegovy Alternative

Hims & Hers Launches Lower-Cost Weight-Loss Pill

• 🎯 Hims & Hers announced it will offer a compounded version of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy weight-loss pill.
• 💰 The introductory price is set at $49 for one month, rising to $99 per month for a five-month plan paid upfront.
• 📉 This move caused Novo Nordisk's shares to plunge again on Thursday.

Novo Nordisk's Response and Concerns

• ⚖️ Novo Nordisk stated the action by Hims & Hers is illegal mass compounding and poses a significant risk to patient safety.
• ⚠️ The company announced it would take legal action to protect patients, its intellectual property, and the integrity of the drug approval framework.
• 🗣️ Novo Nordisk previously warned of unprecedented pricing pressure on its weight-loss medicines.

Background and Regulatory Scrutiny

• 📜 Novo Nordisk, like Eli Lilly, has faced pressure to cut prices in the US market.
• 🤝 Hims and Novo Nordisk had a prior partnership in 2025 for Hims to offer injectable Wegovy, but they parted ways.
• 🚫 The FDA issued a warning in September regarding marketing claims for compounded drugs, stating that phrases like "same active ingredient as Ompic and Wegovy" are misleading.
• 💊 Hims's compounded version uses semaglutide, the same active ingredient as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy.