Six months after launching its weight loss program, online health and wellness company Hims & Hers added compounded GLP-1 medications to its offerings.
Hims & Hers virtual weight management program rolled out in December and offered consumers access to oral medication kits. Those medications have active ingredients that help to suppress appetite and curb cravings, including Bupropion, Metformin, Naltrexone and Topiramate with Vitamin B12, according to the company.
The company has now added compounded GLP-1 injections with the same active ingredient as buzzy branded weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, executives said.
Shares of the company soared 30% Monday morning after the announcement.
Patrick Carroll, M.D., Hims & Hers' chief medical officer, said the company is working with a manufacturing pharmacy that is a "top-flight, nationally recognized leader in generic injection medication," designated by the Food and Drug Administration as a 503B compounding pharmacy that meets all the current good manufacturing practices (CGMP) guidelines.
The company did not disclose the name of the compounding pharmacy partner.
Some branded GLP-1 medications continue to be in short supply and patients often face drug shortages along with high costs that currently limit access to the branded medications.
By working with a high-quality manufacturing partner to provide access to generic injectables, Hims & Hers will be able to navigate these supply issues, Carroll said in an interview with Fierce Healthcare.
"We wanted a partner that had the capacity to supply us with medications and not have an interrupted supply chain. We wanted someone with the size and the scalability that matches the size of our business," he added. " We're going to have a pretty robust demand and we just wanted to make sure we had a partner that they could fulfill those prescriptions once they came in."
Andrew Dudum, CEO and co-founder of Hims & Hers, said the company leveraged its "size and scale to secure access to one of the highest-quality supplies of compounded GLP-1 injections available today."
"We’re passing that access and value along to our customers, who deserve a high standard of clinical safety and validation to meet their goals, and we're doing it in a safe, affordable way that others can’t deliver," Dudum said.
The company said pricing for weight loss medications starts at $79 per month for oral medication kits and $199 per month for compounded GLP-1 injections. Pricing includes unlimited medical consultations with a licensed provider.
By comparison, the price tag on branded weight loss drugs like Wegovy can total more than $1,000 a month per person without insurance.
Hims & Hers is a multispecialty telehealth platform that connects consumers to medical care for numerous conditions related to mental health, sexual health, dermatology and primary care. The company expanded into heart health in August and weight management at the year of the year.
Hims & Hers didn't dive into the GLP-1 medications back in December because the company was concerned about supply chain issues, Carroll said.
"We were concerned about starting patients on the GLP-1s and not having the fulfillment ability three to six months down the line," Carroll said.
Craig Primack, M.D. an obesity medicine physician who joined the company in August, worked with a team of clinical experts in obesity medicine, psychology and nutrition to design the Weight Loss by Hims & Hers program.
"We actually wanted to look at the safety profile and side effects until we got to the point where we're very comfortable, particularly with Craig 's experience prescribing these for several years with his own patients. That the safety profile looked very strong and we could offer a GLP-1 off our platform and do it in a safe, high-quality way is why we decided to move forward with it."
Once consistent supply is available through the pharmacies' wholesaler, Hims & Hers plans to make branded options available to customers, expanding the offering beyond the current oral medication kits and compounded GLP-1 injectable medications.
"Will they be there right at launch? Probably not, but it's going to be a fast follow," Carroll said. "The concern we do have with the branded medications, there is still a pretty big supply constraints on those. If people choose, 'Hey, I'd like to try to submit this to my insurance,' we'll give the prescription to do that. But we anticipate they may come back to us and say, 'I just can't access the medication.' The compounded meds, they'll be able to access through us."
Obesity is one of the most common chronic health issues in the U.S. and can lead to or exacerbate many other significant physical and mental health challenges, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and depression. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 42% of American adults are considered to have obesity with an additional 31% considered overweight.
Hims & Hers executives say the current weight loss offering is tracking to eclipse $100 million in revenue by the end of 2025, growing faster than any specialty in the company’s history.
The company will follow FDA guidelines for prescribing the compounded GLP-1 injectables—the drugs are indicated for chronic weight management in patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or greater who have at least one weight-related ailment or in patients with a BMI of 30 or greater.
Medications are prescribed based on what medical providers determine is medically appropriate and necessary for each patient, the company said. Patients are screened by licensed healthcare providers on the Hims & Hers platform to determine the best treatment. Each individual treatment plan is personalized based on a person’s body, health history and overall health and wellness goals. The holistic approach allows providers on the platform to combine customized medication management with ongoing clinical support, according to the company.
The service was developed to be a more affordable approach to reducing weight by addressing the underlying factors that affect people’s weight: nutrition, behavior, movement and medical treatment, according to executives back in December.
Patients will have regular follow-up visits with providers to check for side effects and update progress on their weight loss goals, Carroll said.
"This program is centered on choice, access and affordability. We've been very thoughtful about entering into the space," he added.
In the past year, many telehealth and digital health companies, including Hims & Hers competitor Ro, have jumped into the market, offering prescriptions for GLP-1s as part of an existing weight loss or chronic condition management program or creating a new service line targeting obesity care.
Hims & Hers has been slower to enter the weight management space compared to its peers.
"Launching the oral formulations first, it allowed us to build out the platform to look at how we manage our weight loss patients. That's going to serve us well with the GLP-1s. We have a provider group that's trained on how to prescribe the oral medications, and they're going to be trained on how to prescribe the GLP-1s," Carroll said.
He added, "We know weight loss medications alone do not treat obesity effectively, so we’ve built a holistic weight management solution that supports customers as they combine powerful medications with healthy lifestyle habits, such as exercise, improved sleep, and eating nutritious foods. Our comprehensive approach to weight loss comes with support from medical providers who understand the nuance of weight gain and weight loss."