Hims & Hers is making waves in the weight-loss market with the launch of its own pill version of the popular GLP-1 drug Wegovy, a move that has drawn immediate legal threats from the original manufacturer, Novo Nordisk.
The telehealth company said Thursday it will offer a lower-cost, off-brand alternative to the newly reformulated Wegovy pill, which has quickly become a blockbuster in US weight-loss treatments.
The San Francisco-based company plans to introduce its compounded pill at $49 for the first month for new customers, followed by $99 per month.
That is well below Novo Nordisk's price of $149 per month, highlighting Hims' focus on affordability in a rapidly growing market, MarketBeat reported.
The company has been selling compounded versions of GLP-1 drugs, which were originally only available as injections, for years.
Novo Nordisk responded swiftly, calling Hims' product "an unapproved, inauthentic, and untested knockoff" of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy.
"Novo Nordisk will take legal and regulatory action to protect patients, our intellectual property and the integrity of the US gold-standard drug approval framework," the Danish drugmaker said in a statement.
Despite previous FDA warnings, Hims has continued selling its compounded drugs because these medications are customized for individual patients and are not subject to the strict federal approval process that brand-name drugs face.
Novo Nordisk $NVO have just released the following statement saying that they intend to sue Hims & Hers Health $HIMS over their copycat Wegovy drug:
— James Woolley (@steady_profits) February 5, 2026
"The action by Hims & Hers is illegal mass compounding that poses a significant risk to patient safety. Novo Nordisk will take… pic.twitter.com/2FbWoN0i2z
Hims & Hers Clarifies Its Wegovy Pill Isn't FDA-Approved
In September, the FDA sent a warning letter to Hims over "false and misleading" marketing, cautioning that the company's claims suggested its products were equivalent to FDA-approved GLP-1 drugs.
Hims' Thursday announcement reiterates that its pill contains "the same active ingredient as Wegovy" but is "not approved or evaluated for safety, effectiveness, or quality by the FDA."
The FDA permits compounded versions of brand-name drugs when there is a shortage.
According to AP News, the recent high demand for GLP-1 medications prompted Hims and similar companies to enter the multibillion-dollar market.
Although the shortage ended in 2024, compounding remains legal if the prescription is customized for a patient.
"Whether a patient needs a specific dosage adjustment or prefers a compounded semaglutide pill over an injection, our platform now supports a deeper level of personalization," said Dr. Craig Primack, who leads Hims' weight-loss products.
The announcement sent ripples through the stock market, with Novo Nordisk shares falling more than 8% in Thursday afternoon trading.
Join the Conversation