Novo Nordisk shares jumped 8% Monday after Hims & Hers said it will pull its copycat weight-loss pill off the market.
Novo Nordisk, maker of Wegovy, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had threatened legal action against telehealth firm Hims & Hers, which announced over the weekend it would not sell a knockoff Wegovy pill for as little as $49, roughly $100 less than what Novo sells the branded pill for on its direct-to-consumer platform NovoCare.
“Since launching the compounded semaglutide pill on our platform, we’ve had constructive conversations with stakeholders across the industry,” Hims & Hers posted on social media on Saturday. “As a result, we have decided to stop offering access to this treatment. We remain committed to the millions of Americans who depend on us for access to safe, affordable, and personalized care.”
The news of the $49 Wegovy copy led both Novo and chief rival Eli Lilly stocks to tank on Thursday. Hims, meanwhile, soared on the news to later pare gains when Novo threatened legal action.
In early Monday trading, Novo shares were up 8.2%, but the stock is still down nearly 50% over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, Hims fell 13.6.4% in premarket trading, and Lilly shares were 2.4% lower.
Novo Nordisk stock has fallen over the past year, partly due to competitive pressure from firms like Eli Lilly and Hims & Hers.
Hims has profited hugely from selling so-called compounded versions of injectable semaglutide under a regulatory loophole that allows other companies to sell copycats of the drugs if the branded medicines are in short supply.
Novo’s bestselling semaglutide — the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic — has previously faced shortages both in the U.S. and in Europe, as demand far outstripped supply in the early days of the GLP-1 boom. Since then, Novo has ramped up manufacturing capabilities, including by buying fill-finish manufacturer Catalent for $16.5 billion, and it has resolved any supply restraints.
No shortages have been reported for the pill, which launched in January this year.
On Friday, the FDA said it intended to take “decisive steps” to restrict such practises by compounding pharmacies, including Hims. “These actions are aimed to safeguard consumers from drugs for which the FDA cannot verify quality, safety, or efficacy,” the regulator said in a statement.
Hims’ semaglutide isn’t FDA-approved, and the FDA also said it would crack down on “misleading direct-to-consumer advertising.”
“In promotional materials, companies cannot claim that non-FDA-approved compounded products are generic versions or the same as drugs approved by FDA,” it said.
Novo has repeatedly cited a challenging U.S. market, including compounding, as a reason for slowing sales. In 2026, Novo expects to see both revenue and profits declining by between 5% and 13%.
On Thursday, Novo said it would take legal action against Hims.
“The action by Hims & Hers is illegal mass compounding that poses a significant risk to patient safety,” the company said in a statement. “This is another example of Hims & Hers’ historic behaviour of duping the American public with knock-off GLP-1 products, and the FDA has previously warned them about their deceptive advertising of GLP-1 knock-offs.”
— CNBC’s Laya Neelakandan contributed to this story
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