Novo Nordisk ends its partnership with Hims & Hers over knockoff versions of Wegovy

Less than 2 months after announcing a collaboration with Hims & Hers Health, Inc. to sell Wegovy (semaglutide) on the company’s telehealth platform, Novo Nordisk has ended the partnership. This means that access to this weight loss drug will no longer be available to Hims & Hers through the drugmaker’s direct-to-consumer NovoCare Pharmacy.

In a press release, the Danish drugmaker expressed concerns that the telehealth company “has failed to adhere to the law, which prohibits mass sales of compounded drugs.” They were selling compounded semaglutide “under the false guise of ‘personalization’ and are disseminating deceptive marketing that put patient safety at risk.” After this news broke, shares of Hims & Hers (HIMS) closed more than 34% lower, while Novo Nordisk’s stock (NVO) was down more than 5%.

Novo Nordisk also stated that a company investigation revealed the ingredients in knock-off drugs sold by telehealth companies and compounding pharmacies are manufactured by foreign suppliers in China. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) never inspected a large share of these copycat compounded drugs, and many of those that were inspected had drug quality assurance violations.

Compounded GLP-1s like Wegovy and Ozempic, as well as Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro, have been available for most of the past 2 years as pharmaceutical companies could not handle the demand for these type 2 diabetes and obesity medications. The FDA allows for copycats to be produced based on the same active ingredients while they are in short supply. With these medications now off the shortage list, it is only legal to make compounded versions in very few instances. Compounding pharmacies have been fighting in court to be allowed to continue producing these popular medications. However, a U.S. federal judge recently rejected a bid by these pharmacies to make semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy), upholding the FDA’s decision to remove it from the shortage list.

Novo Nordisk will still work with telehealth organizations like LifeMD and Ro to provide direct access to FDA-approved Wegovy. These companies must be committed to patient safety, “and when companies engage in illegal sham compounding that jeopardizes the health of Americans, we will continue to take action,” Executive Vice President of Novo Nordisk’s U.S. Operations, Dave Moore, said.

In a response from Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum on X, he said the company is “disappointed to see Novo Nordisk management misleading the public.” He also said Hims & Hers will continue to offer several treatments, including Wegovy, to allow providers to make treatment decisions that meet the individual needs of patients.

Does Universal Drugstore sell compounded GLP-1s?

At UDS, we do not sell any compounded products. All of our medications, including the GLP-1s, are sourced from our international pharmacy partners at a discounted price. All of the pharmacies we work with are licensed by the governmental regulatory bodies in their respective country. This includes pharmacies in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Turkey. The medications you receive come from the same drug manufacturers that supply meds to the US and are regulated by that country’s equivalent of the FDA. For example, Canada’s regulatory authority is Health Canada. There is no evidence to suggest that medications approved for use by Health Canada are not as safe as FDA-approved drugs sold in America. And many of the medications sold around the world come from the same drug manufacturers overseas.

So you can be assured that patient safety is a top priority for UDS. Visit UDS today and save up to 80% off your local pharmacy’s prices for over 4000 prescription, over-the-counter, and pet medications!