Novo and Hims Reconcile to Sell Obesity Drugs Together
Synopsis
Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers are calling off their public battle, agreeing to a new partnership in which the two companies will sell Novo’s approved obesity drugs through the Hims platform. The two…
Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers are calling off their public battle, agreeing to a new partnership in which the two companies will sell Novo’s approved obesity drugs through the Hims platform. The two had a deal that Novo terminated last year, and then spent February because of adversaries in the courtroom after Hims started selling a much cheaper knockoff of Novo’s Wegovy pill.
Key Highlights
- Novo Nordisk and Hims to announce new terms, ending their legal battle.
- Hims stock spiked 39% in after-hours trading on Friday when the news was first reported.
- But the two had a deal last year, which Novo cancelled when Hims continued to sell lookalike drugs.
- Hims introduced a $49 version of Novo’s Wegovy pill in February, then removed it after FDA pressure.
Novo and Hims Sued Each Other Last Month, Now They’re Partners Again
Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers will soon say they are collaborating again. The two companies are expected to announce a new partnership and go public as soon as Monday. As part of the deal, Hims will offer Novo’s real, approved weight loss drugs on its platform. It is a stark reversal of only a few weeks ago when Novo was in court seeking to shut Hims down for good.
The news moved markets fast. Shares of Hims soared 39% in after-hours trading on Friday. That kind of leap shows you investors were not prepared for this. Just a month ago, that same stock was in decline after Novo sued it.
How This Fight Began, and Why It Went So Wrong So Quickly
The two companies did attempt collaboration in the past. Novo last year struck a deal with Hims to sell Wegovy, its blockbuster obesity injection, through the Hims platform. That deal collapsed within eight weeks. Novo withdrew after Hims would not agree to stop selling its own inexpensive copycat versions of Wegovy. Novo said that broke the law. Hims said it was simply allowing patients access to inexpensive care.
Then in early February of this year, Hims took things further. It introduced its own knockoff of Novo’s just-approved Wegovy pill, the first obesity pill cleared by the FDA in 30 years, and charged consumers only $49 for the first month. Novo’s actual pill runs about $150. Hims said the technical particulars differ from its version. Novo and many medical experts called it an unsafe knockoff produced without adequate safeguards.
The FDA intervened, and Hims retreated
The Food and Drug Administration of the United States’s health regulator, weighed in against Hims. The copycat pill, the F.D.A. said, was an unapproved drug and it threatened legal action, including cutting off Hims’ access to the ingredients needed to manufacture it. The F.D.A. also flagged the product with the Department of Justice. That was heavy pressure from two angles simultaneously.
Hims took down the copycat pill within two days of releasing it. But then on Feb. 9 Novo took an additional step, filing a formal lawsuit in court requesting a permanent injunction against all of Hims’ compounded copy products, not just the pill that went for sale, but also the versions of Wegovy injections and Ozempic clones. Novo said Hims had infringed on the patent protecting semaglutide, the active ingredient that gives these drugs their kick, which runs until 2032.
Why They’re Coming Together Again Now
With the lawsuit lodged in court and the FDA applying pressure, Hims had few options. It had already withdrawn its copycat pill and was facing a permanent ban on the rest of its compounded goods. Novo, for its part, has good reasons of its own to want Hims on board. The obesity drug market is a vast and increasingly competitive one. Rival Eli Lilly is rolling out its own obesity pill during the second-quarter of 2026. Novo needs every sales channel it can find.
By placing Wegovy on the Hims platform, Novo has direct access to millions of patients who were already buying cheap copies because they could not afford or had no way to get the real thing, a representative of people familiar with Novo’s strategy told me. For Hims, having the approved drug also allows it to remain legally in the obesity market without simultaneously battling regulators and a large pharmaceutical company. The new deal seems to be a practical one for both sides.
FAQs
- Why did Novo sue Hims?
Hims was selling cheap copycat versions of Novo’s obesity drug, Wegovy, without approval and in violation of Novo’s patent.
- What is Wegovy?
It is Novo Nordisk’s prescribed weight loss drug, injectable, and now also in pill form.
- Why did Hims yank its copycat pill so quickly?
Days after its launch, the FDA threatened to take legal action and cut off its supply of ingredients.
- Have these two companies collaborated in the past?
Yes, they cut a deal last year, but Novo scrapped it after eight weeks because Hims continued to sell copycats.
- Why did Hims shares jump 39%?
Investors viewed the partnership as a strategy for Hims to legally remain in the obesity drug market without taking on Novo and regulators
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