Wegovy Partnership Unravels as Novo Nordisk, Hims & Hers Trade Accusations
A high-profile weight loss drug deal between pharma giant Novo Nordisk and telehealth leader Hims & Hers ends in finger-pointing, with claims of unsafe compounds and accusations of corporate strong-arming
Novo Nordisk has terminated its partnership with Hims & Hers, citing the telehealth company’s alleged promotion and sale of compounded versions of Wegovy that the drugmaker says pose a risk to patient safety — a claim Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum disputes, accusing Novo of trying to “strong-arm” its clinicians into prescribing Wegovy without regard for patient-specific care decisions.
The decision, announced by Novo Nordisk on Monday, ends a short-lived collaboration launched in April that bundled Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug Wegovy with Hims & Hers’ 24/7 virtual care, clinical support and nutrition coaching for $599 per month through NovoCare Pharmacy via the Hims & Hers platform.
The breakup comes just weeks after the Food and Drug Administration officially declared the Wegovy shortage resolved, noting that Novo Nordisk can now fully meet national demand. In response, the pharmaceutical giant partnered with select telehealth providers to help patients transition from compounded alternatives to the FDA-approved version of the drug.
Shots Fired
Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum publicly pushed back on Novo Nordisk’s claims, accusing the drugmaker in a statement on X of misleading the public and attempting to interfere with clinical decision-making on the popular telehealth platform.
“In recent weeks, Novo Nordisk’s commercial team increasingly pressured us to control clinical standards and steer patients to Wegovy regardless of whether it was clinically best for patients,” Dudum wrote. “We refuse to be strong-armed by any pharmaceutical company’s anticompetitive demands that infringe on the independent decision-making of providers and limit patient choice.”
Dudum said the telehealth platform will continue offering access to a range of treatment options, including Wegovy, to ensure providers can make decisions based on individual patient needs.
“We take our role of protecting the ability of providers and patients to control individual treatment decisions extremely seriously and will not compromise the integrity of our platform to appease a third party or preserve a collaboration,” Dudum wrote. “The health and wellness of individuals always comes first.”
In a press release issued Monday, the Denmark-based Novo Nordisk alleged that Hims & Hers has “failed to adhere to the law” by engaging in “mass sales of compounded drugs under the false guise of ‘personalization,'” and accused the company of “disseminating deceptive marketing that put patient safety at risk.”
The pharmaceutical company also stated that, based on its investigation, the semaglutide active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used in compounded drugs sold by some telehealth companies and compounding pharmacies are sourced from foreign suppliers in China. Novo Nordisk cited a Brookings Institution report noting that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not authorized the manufacturing processes used by these suppliers nor reviewed or verified the quality of the semaglutide they produce. The press release does not name Hims & Hers in connection with the API allegations, instead referring broadly to “telehealth entities and compounding pharmacies.”
“Novo Nordisk is firm on our position and protecting patients living with obesity,” Novo Nordisk executive vice president of U.S. operations, Dave Moore, said. “When patients are prescribed semaglutide treatments by their licensed healthcare professional or a telehealth provider, they are entitled to receive authentic, FDA-approved and regulated Wegovy. We will work with telehealth companies to provide direct access to Wegovy that share our commitment to patient safety – and when companies engage in illegal sham compounding that jeopardizes the health of Americans, we will continue to take action.”
Hims & Hers Defends Compounding
In a separate statement provided by its Corporate Affairs division late Monday afternoon, Hims & Hers framed Novo Nordisk’s decision as an attempt to undermine lawful, personalized medical care and questioned the company’s motives.
“We’ve built a company grounded in values, clinical integrity and high standards,” Hims & Hers posted on LinkedIn. “We’re creating a healthcare system where licensed providers, not manufacturers, make clinical decisions, and where patients can access the care that’s right for them.
That mission is being tested by Novo Nordisk’s decision to end their collaboration with Hims & Hers.”
The statement continued:
“This is a move by a pharmaceutical giant to protect its own interests by challenging lawful, personalized compounded care. Even more troubling is the effort to conflate lawful compounders with bad actors. That’s misleading and harmful, especially for patients with complex needs.”
The telehealth company further emphasized that compounding, when done responsibly and in accordance with U.S. law, plays a key role in expanding access to individualized treatment and outlined a multi-layered safety and quality framework for its compounded medications, including the use of FDA-registered ingredient suppliers, cleanroom environments, routine potency and sterility testing, ongoing oversight measures and full transparency with patients about the nature and limitations of compounded drugs.
“When patients receive a compounded medication, they shouldn’t have to question its safety or quality,” the statement read. “We’ll always make decisions that reflect our mission. And today, you’re seeing what it looks like when we stand our ground against big pharma, on behalf of patients, providers and the future of personalized care.”
Beyond the Pharma Clash
Beyond its dispute with Novo Nordisk, Hims & Hers has continued expanding its footprint in digital health. Earlier this year, the company acquired Trybe Labs (also known as Sigmund NJ LLC),a New Jersey-based at-home lab testing facility, to support its push into new treatment areas, including low testosterone, perimenopause and menopause. It followed that deal with the acquisition of a U.S.-based peptide facility in California.
More recently, the telehealth company announced plans to acquire Zava, a European digital health platform with over one million active users, in an all-cash transaction. Expected to close in the second half of 2025, the deal will mark Hims & Hers’ official entry into Germany, France, and Ireland, while deepening its presence in the U.K. It will also enable the company to offer personalized care across dermatology, weight loss, mental health, and sexual health.