Hims Launches Cheaper Wegovy Alternative, Novo Threatens Suit

Telehealth company Hims & Hers announced on Thursday that it will offer a compounded version of Novo Nordisk's blockbuster weight-loss pill Wegovy at a fraction of the branded drug's price, intensifying competition in the rapidly growing market for GLP-1 medications. The move, which comes shortly after Novo launched an oral formulation of Wegovy, prompted the Danish pharmaceutical giant to vow legal action against Hims, accusing it of selling an unapproved knockoff. Shares of Novo Nordisk plunged more than 8 percent during Thursday afternoon trading but rebounded nearly 5 percent in early Friday sessions in Copenhagen.

Hims, based in San Francisco, described its product as a personalized compounded semaglutide pill, using the same active ingredient as Wegovy but customized for individual patients. The company priced the introductory offer at $49 for the first month with a five-month commitment, rising to $99 per month thereafter. This undercuts Novo's Wegovy, which costs $1,349 per month for the starting dose. Hims emphasized that its formulation includes protections for the active ingredient to aid digestion and absorption, and it sources ingredients from FDA-registered...