Novo Nordisk partners with telehealth firms to sell Wegovy
Novo Nordisk is working with telehealth companies to sell a cheaper version of its injectable weight-loss drug Wegovy, launching the partnership after these companies became unable to sell compounded, unapproved versions of its wildly in-demand drug.
The pharmaceutical company announced it will partner with Hims & Hers, LifeMD and Ro to provide all five dose strengths of Wegovy at a reduced price of $499. The partnership involves Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer, NovoCare® Pharmacy, which launched last month to cater to patients without insurance or have plans that don’t cover obesity drugs.
The announcement expands telehealth firms’ portfolio of branded glp-1 drugs to offer at a time when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is prohibiting them from selling and making compounded versions.
Novo is following its competitor Eli Lilly, which last year partnered with telehealth companies to sell its obesity drug Zepbound.
Wegovy and Ozempic, both forms of semaglutide manufactured by Novo Nordisk, were on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) shortage list for more than two years. During this period, telehealth companies began offering compounded versions of semaglutide, which contains the same active ingredient but is not FDA-approved.
When the shortage officially ended in February, pharmacies had only a few weeks to continue providing compounded semaglutide before they would be prohibited from selling the compounded drug.
Through this partnership with Novo Nordisk, patients of these telehealth companies can continue to get semaglutide from the source they’ve been acquiring their prescriptions. The list price for one month’s supply of Wegovy is normally $1,349 without insurance.
CenterWell Pharmacy, owned by Humana Inc., will be fulfilling orders made through Novo Nordisk’s telehealth partners.
“Wegovy® continues to be in high demand as there are 100 million Americans living with obesity. We believe patients living with this chronic disease who want and need treatment under the care of a licensed healthcare professional, including those embracing the growing telehealth community, deserve to get the real thing,” Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president of U.S. operations, said in a statement.
In response to the news Tuesday, the stock prices of Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers shot up, with the latter stock price rising by nearly $10.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.
Essential Reads
How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:
How Trump chipped away at abortion access in his first 100 days
President Trump steadily chipped away at abortion access during the first 100 days of his second term. Trump campaigned on leaving abortion decisions to the states, and has so far made no push to outlaw the procedure on a national level. But since he returned to office in January, he and his administration have taken steps to support anti-abortion activists and restrict access to abortion care not only in the United States, …
Full Story
Chemical in plastics linked to 350K heart disease deaths: Research
Daily exposure to certain chemicals used to manufacture household plastics may be connected to more than 356,000 cardiovascular-related deaths in 2018 alone, a new analysis has found. These chemicals, called phthalates, are present in products around the world but have particular popularity in the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific — regions that collectively bore about 75 percent of the global death total, …
Full Story
Novo Nordisk partners with Ro, Hims and LifeMD to sell low-cost Wegovy
Novo Nordisk is partnering with online telehealth companies to sell a direct-to-consumer, lower cost version of its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy. The pharmaceutical company announced it would be partnering with Hims & Hers., LifeMD and Ro. to provide all five dose strengths of its weight-loss GLP-1 medication Wegovy at a reduced cost of $499. All doses will be delivered with a once-weekly single-dose pen. Novo Nordisk’s …
Full Story
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The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on biomedical research.
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Mehmet Oz: Trump told me to ‘love and cherish’ Medicare
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said President Trump told him to “love and cherish” Medicare, while focusing his efforts on cutting waste, fraud and abuse from the nation’s health programs. “When Hubert Humphrey, a Democrat, said we have a moral obligation to take care of those in the dawn, the twilight and the shadows of life, he wasn’t talking about student …
Full Story
Around the Nation
Local and state headlines on health care:
Virginia expanded warning on areas exposed to child with measles (The Washington Post)
Texas measles outbreak now over 660 cases, but fewer than 10 actively infectious (The Dallas Morning News)
Proposed $40 billion federal cuts to HHS would threaten Utah health and economy (KPCW)
What We’re Reading
Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
Experimental cancer drug found to help some patients avoid surgery (The Washington Post)
Greater share of US losing faith in health guidance, poll says (Roll Call)
Women who survive cancer are more likely to have fatigue and depression (NBC News)
What Others are Reading
Most read stories on The Hill right now:
Hegseth ‘proud’ to end Women, Peace and Security program
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Tuesday that he had begun to shutter a Pentagon program meant to advance women’s participation in peace-building … Read more
Trump’s federal return-to-office orders are massively backfiring
Chaos, frustration, and a deep sense of unease have swept through countless federal offices ever since President Trump announced a blanket return-to-office … Read more
What People Think
Opinion related to health submitted to The Hill:
Trump’s cuts to federal health spending will cause more cancer deaths
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Novo Nordisk partners with telehealth firms to sell Wegovy
Novo Nordisk is working with telehealth companies to sell a cheaper version of its injectable weight-loss drug Wegovy, launching the partnership after these companies became unable to sell compounded, unapproved versions of its wildly in-demand drug.
The pharmaceutical company announced it will partner with Hims & Hers, LifeMD and Ro to provide all five dose strengths of Wegovy at a reduced price of $499. The partnership involves Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer, NovoCare® Pharmacy, which launched last month to cater to patients without insurance or have plans that don’t cover obesity drugs.
The announcement expands telehealth firms’ portfolio of branded glp-1 drugs to offer at a time when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is prohibiting them from selling and making compounded versions.
Novo is following its competitor Eli Lilly, which last year partnered with telehealth companies to sell its obesity drug Zepbound.
Wegovy and Ozempic, both forms of semaglutide manufactured by Novo Nordisk, were on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) shortage list for more than two years. During this period, telehealth companies began offering compounded versions of semaglutide, which contains the same active ingredient but is not FDA-approved.
When the shortage officially ended in February, pharmacies had only a few weeks to continue providing compounded semaglutide before they would be prohibited from selling the compounded drug.
Through this partnership with Novo Nordisk, patients of these telehealth companies can continue to get semaglutide from the source they’ve been acquiring their prescriptions. The list price for one month’s supply of Wegovy is normally $1,349 without insurance.
CenterWell Pharmacy, owned by Humana Inc., will be fulfilling orders made through Novo Nordisk’s telehealth partners.
“Wegovy® continues to be in high demand as there are 100 million Americans living with obesity. We believe patients living with this chronic disease who want and need treatment under the care of a licensed healthcare professional, including those embracing the growing telehealth community, deserve to get the real thing,” Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president of U.S. operations, said in a statement.
In response to the news Tuesday, the stock prices of Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers shot up, with the latter stock price rising by nearly $10.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.
Essential Reads
How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:
How Trump chipped away at abortion access in his first 100 days
President Trump steadily chipped away at abortion access during the first 100 days of his second term. Trump campaigned on leaving abortion decisions to the states, and has so far made no push to outlaw the procedure on a national level. But since he returned to office in January, he and his administration have taken steps to support anti-abortion activists and restrict access to abortion care not only in the United States, …
Full Story
Chemical in plastics linked to 350K heart disease deaths: Research
Daily exposure to certain chemicals used to manufacture household plastics may be connected to more than 356,000 cardiovascular-related deaths in 2018 alone, a new analysis has found. These chemicals, called phthalates, are present in products around the world but have particular popularity in the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific — regions that collectively bore about 75 percent of the global death total, …
Full Story
Novo Nordisk partners with Ro, Hims and LifeMD to sell low-cost Wegovy
Novo Nordisk is partnering with online telehealth companies to sell a direct-to-consumer, lower cost version of its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy. The pharmaceutical company announced it would be partnering with Hims & Hers., LifeMD and Ro. to provide all five dose strengths of its weight-loss GLP-1 medication Wegovy at a reduced cost of $499. All doses will be delivered with a once-weekly single-dose pen. Novo Nordisk’s …
Full Story
On Our Radar
Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:
The Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on biomedical research.
In Other News
Branch out with a different read:
Mehmet Oz: Trump told me to ‘love and cherish’ Medicare
Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said President Trump told him to “love and cherish” Medicare, while focusing his efforts on cutting waste, fraud and abuse from the nation’s health programs. “When Hubert Humphrey, a Democrat, said we have a moral obligation to take care of those in the dawn, the twilight and the shadows of life, he wasn’t talking about student …
Full Story
Around the Nation
Local and state headlines on health care:
Virginia expanded warning on areas exposed to child with measles (The Washington Post)
Texas measles outbreak now over 660 cases, but fewer than 10 actively infectious (The Dallas Morning News)
Proposed $40 billion federal cuts to HHS would threaten Utah health and economy (KPCW)
What We’re Reading
Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:
Experimental cancer drug found to help some patients avoid surgery (The Washington Post)
Greater share of US losing faith in health guidance, poll says (Roll Call)
Women who survive cancer are more likely to have fatigue and depression (NBC News)
What Others are Reading
Most read stories on The Hill right now:
Hegseth ‘proud’ to end Women, Peace and Security program
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Tuesday that he had begun to shutter a Pentagon program meant to advance women’s participation in peace-building … Read more
Trump’s federal return-to-office orders are massively backfiring
Chaos, frustration, and a deep sense of unease have swept through countless federal offices ever since President Trump announced a blanket return-to-office … Read more
What People Think
Opinion related to health submitted to The Hill:
Trump’s cuts to federal health spending will cause more cancer deaths
You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!
Close
Thank you for signing up!
Subscribe to more newsletters here
The latest in politics and policy.
Direct to your inbox.
Sign up for the Health Care newsletter
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