Hims & Hers copies Novo Nordisk's new Wegovy pill

Novo Nordisk is already facing competition for its new oral formulation of weight-loss drug Wegovy, after telehealth company Hims & Hers started selling a cut-price, compounded version.

The US telehealth company confirmed today that it is launching an oral version of GLP-1 agonist semaglutide – the active ingredient in Wegovy – at a knockdown introductory price of $49 per month with a five-month plan.

Novo Nordisk only launched oral Wegovy in January, and is banking on the new formulation making strong sales as it faces pressure on its injectable version of semaglutide for weight loss. Initial take-up is reported to be strong, and the company said during its fourth-quarter results update this week that around 50,000 prescriptions are currently being filled each week.

It added that 170,000 people are taking the drug at the moment, many of whom appear to be new to GLP-1 agonist therapy for weight loss as they are using the starter dose, which sells for $149 per month. It is trying to build a market quickly before a rival oral GLP-1 from Eli Lilly, orforglipron, enters the market.

The Danish pharma group lost no time in slamming Hims & Hers' move, saying it deplores the plan to "unlawfully mass-market an unapproved, inauthentic, and untested knockoff semaglutide pill."

In a statement, it said: "The action by Hims & Hers is illegal mass compounding that poses a significant risk to patient safety. Novo Nordisk will take legal and regulatory action to protect patients, our intellectual property and the integrity of the US gold-standard drug approval framework."

Hims & Hers started selling a compounded version of injectable semaglutide in 2024, while the drug was still deemed to be in short supply. Under US regulations, compounding pharmacies can make and sell medicines – even if they are still under patent – if supplies in the marketplace.

Semaglutide came off the shortage list a year ago, but some companies have continued to provide the drug to patients under exceptions for 'personalised' treatments under a framework known as Section 503A. Put simply, that allows compounders to make compounds in small quantities for patients whose needs – they claim – are not met by a standard formulation.

Various lawsuits challenging that assertion are already in play, and Novo Nordisk asserted today that all doses of Wegovy pill are available "in full supply" across the US.

Hims & Hers said its oral semaglutide "empowers providers to tailor treatment plans specifically for those who prefer to avoid needles or need smaller doses to help to balance side-effects."

It added that its compounding operations "adhere to all federal and state standards for compounding, and all active pharmaceutical ingredients…in compounded treatments are sourced exclusively from FDA-registered facilities."

In its statement, Novo Nordisk said the American Diabetes Association's Obesity Association recently published new standards of care, which "discourage the use of compounded GLP-1s due to safety, quality, and effectiveness concerns."