Handshake and reconciliation! Novo Nordisk withdraws lawsuit, Wegovy officially launched on the Hims & Hers platform

Handshake and reconciliation! Novo Nordisk withdraws lawsuit, Wegovy officially launched on the Hims & Hers platform

Novo Nordisk has reached a cooperation agreement with American telemedicine company Hims & Hers Health, ending months of patent disputes.

According to Bloomberg, Novo Nordisk announced on Monday that it will sell its flagship products Ozempic and Wegovy to U.S. consumers through the Hims platform, including the popular Wegovy oral tablets, and will simultaneously withdraw the patent infringement lawsuit filed last month. In exchange, Hims has pledged to stop promoting its generic GLP-1 drugs and will continue to provide compound formulations only when clinically deemed necessary by doctors.

Following the announcement, Hims' stock surged more than 49% during trading, marking the largest single-day gain in history; Novo Nordisk's Copenhagen stock also rose over 2%.

Marty Makary, the Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), called this agreement “a victory for the American people” on social platform X, congratulating both sides for reaching cooperation and emphasizing that Hims will stop promoting unapproved compound drugs and will restrict the use of generic GLP-1 drugs to scenarios compliant with FDA regulations.

From Lawsuit to Handshake: Key Terms of the Cooperation Agreement

Under the agreement, the Hims platform will supply Ozempic and Wegovy injections and Wegovy oral tablets to U.S. consumers at Novo Nordisk’s out-of-pocket prices. Previously, Novo Nordisk had cut the monthly cost of weight loss drugs from about $1,000 to the range of $149-299.

Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar stated that pricing is central to this cooperation, “the price of authentic drugs is now very close to compound formulations.” He revealed that Wegovy oral tablets have generated over 600,000 prescriptions in two months, and collaboration with telemedicine platforms is accelerating their adoption.

Hims will gradually withdraw external marketing of compound weight loss products in the next few weeks and provide patients with new product options. Hims CEO Andrew Dudum said this partnership marks the company’s strategic shift in its U.S. weight loss business from generic GLP-1 drugs to FDA-approved branded products, “this is the direction we see for business growth.”

Novo Nordisk says it retains the right to refile lawsuits while withdrawing the current litigation.

This partnership is not Novo Nordisk and Hims’ first attempt. According to Bloomberg, both parties had previously reached a deal, but Novo Nordisk unilaterally terminated it in June last year on the grounds of “deceptive marketing” by Hims, accusing the company of not effectively curbing large-scale promotion of generic weight loss drugs.

Hims immediately pushed back, claiming Novo Nordisk’s statement was misleading. Dudum at the time said, “There’s absolutely no chance of compromise on this matter,” accusing the other party of making “very inappropriate” demands. The breakdown of cooperation pressured Hims’ stock, casting a shadow over its weight loss drug business prospects.

This February, Novo Nordisk sued Hims for launching a generic Wegovy oral tablet. Even though Hims quickly removed the product under regulatory pressure, the lawsuit remained. That same month, the FDA announced tough measures against companies widely promoting illegal generics, with Hims named among them.

Regulatory Pressure: The Crucial Background for the Settlement

This settlement comes amid a clearly tightening regulatory environment. The week prior to the agreement, the FDA issued warnings to 30 telemedicine companies for misleading promotion of GLP-1 compound drugs, stating that some firms blur compound products with approved drugs.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had referred Hims to the Department of Justice in February to launch a criminal investigation under relevant provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Hims disclosed in its annual report last month that it had received a letter from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), requiring it to preserve documents and information related to statements and business relationships concerning Novo Nordisk’s compound drugs.

Market Competition: Novo Nordisk’s Dual Pressure

This cooperation reflects Novo Nordisk’s dual dilemma in the U.S. market. On one hand, competition for weight loss drug market share with Eli Lilly is intensifying, with Novo Nordisk’s stock down about 23% so far this year; on the other hand, telemedicine companies like Hims continue to erode its market by offering cheaper compound formulations.

The Hims platform has more than 2.5 million subscribers and is one of dozens of telemedicine companies that entered the compound drug market during shortages of Novo Nordisk’s weight loss injections. After the shortage ended, these companies were supposed to stop selling exact generics, but some stayed by adjusting dosages or adding ingredients so their products would be legally considered different from branded drugs.

Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar was personally involved in the negotiations. He said, with the lessons learned from the previous failed partnership, both parties invested more time in details, “everyone has become more mature.”

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