 | Photo: Forbes |
| American telehealth darling Hims & Hers is once again picking a fight with Big Pharma — and this time, it brought a very provocative price tag. 💲 | The company announced plans to launch their own version of Novo Nordisk's blockbuster Wegovy pill for just $49. And in doing so, instantly positioned itself as the budget-friendly disruptor in the red-hot weight-loss market (and pissed a lot of people off in the process).😏🔥 | As expected, Novo Nordisk did not take this news very well. | The Danish drugmaker said it would pursue legal and regulatory action, accusing Hims of "illegal mass compounding," threatening patient safety, and undermining the FDA approval framework. | Although the fight is partially about intellectual property, Novo also 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." 🍿 | Markets, meanwhile, reacted by distancing themselves from the drama. 📉 | Novo Nordisk (NVO) shares slid 8.16% on Thursday, dragging rival Eli Lilly down with it, as investors reassessed pricing power across the entire GLP-1 space. | Hims stock initially popped on the announcement (because disruption sells) but those gains quickly evaporated once Novo confirmed it was lawyer-ing up. | By the close, Hims & Hers (HIMS) finished lower by 3.77%, proving that picking a legal fight with a $400-billion Pharma giant isn't exactly risk-free. 😬 | The timing also couldn't be worse for Novo. | The stock is already down nearly 50% in 2025 and off another 15% year-to-date, following a gloomy 2026 outlook that forecast sales and profit declines of up to 13%, largely due to pricing pressure and rising competition. | In contrast, Eli Lilly expects sales growth of around 25% this year — a gap the market is watching closely. 👀 |
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