Hims & Hers, Novo End Dispute and Announce Collaboration on Wegovy and Ozempic

Novo Nordisk and telehealth company Hims & Hers have ended their dispute over weight loss medications, the companies said on March 9 as they announced a new partnership.

Novo is dropping a patent infringement lawsuit against Hims & Hers, the Denmark-based pharmaceutical company said in a statement. And Novo’s weight loss medications—Ozempic and Wegovy, both approved by the Food and Drug Administration—will be offered through Hims & Hers starting later this month under a new agreement between the firms.

“This agreement with Hims & Hers is a meaningful win for patients in the United States,” Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo, said. “By expanding access through leading telehealth providers and digital care platforms, we are helping to connect more people with our FDA-approved medicines, which have been evaluated for safety and efficacy.”

Andrew Dudum, CEO of Hims & Hers, said in a statement: “I’m excited to have a great partner in Novo Nordisk as we work to create a new model that works for everyday people. This collaboration reflects what’s possible globally when drugmakers, biotech companies, and diagnostic leaders partner with consumer platforms to support scaled distribution of their latest medical innovations.”

Ozempic and Wegovy are two of the most popular glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications, which millions of Americans have used to lose weight in recent years. Their active ingredient is semaglutide.

Hims & Hers in February said it would be offering a lower-cost GLP-1 medication in pill form, made from compounded semaglutide, prompting a lawsuit from Novo and warnings from the FDA because compounded forms of medications largely qualify as “non-approved” by regulators. Hims & Hers marketed the product by saying it contained the same active ingredient as Wegovy.

“The FDA cannot verify the quality, safety, or effectiveness of non-approved drugs,” Dr. Marty Makary, the FDA’s commissioner, said in a recent post on social media, promising “swift action” against companies that sell products that have not been approved while claiming they are similar to FDA-approved products.

Just days later, the U.S.-based company stopped offering the lower-cost pills.

Novo said that in light of the new agreement, Novo is dismissing the suit it filed against Hims & Hers, although it reserves the right to refile it in the future.

The companies said that Hims & Hers will no longer sell any compounded GLP-1 medicines on its platform as it pivots to selling injectable versions of Ozempic and Wegovy as well as the pill form of Wegovy.

“Glad to see HIMS will stop advertising unapproved compounded drugs and instead sell FDA-approved products through its new partnership with Novo Nordisk,” Makary wrote on X on Monday. “Importantly, they will keep them affordable (no increase in price) and limit compounded GLP-1s for rare (FDA compliant) cases.”