Hims & Hers to sell Eli Lilly’s Zepbound on its platform
Hims & Hers is unable to sell copies of GLP-1 agonists after the FDA declared the shortage of those drugs is over.
Hims & Hers shares rose Tuesday afternoon after the telehealth company said it would offer Eli Lilly’s blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound on its platform.
The move gives Hims & Hers a way to offer its users the cutting edge of popular weight-loss drugs after the FDA severely limited Hims’ ability to produce them itself. On February 21, the Food and Drug Administration announced an end to the shortage of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, drugs made by Novo Nordisk. Hims & Hers made about $230 million selling compounded semaglutide in 2024. The company has never sold compounded tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound.
Hims & Hers users can now get a prescription for Zepbound on the platform, but not at a discount: it costs about $1,899 a month, according to the company’s website. Sometimes insured customers can be reimbursed for the drug. For comparison, Lilly offers Zepbound to uninsured patients for about $500 a month, and compounded semaglutide costs about $200 a month.
Shares initially jumped sharply on the news, but gains faded in the afternoon as investors parsed the news.
Hims & Hers’ share price tanked after the FDA announcement on February 21, as it became unclear to what extent the company could continue making money selling GLP-1 drugs. Even with the recent boost, which faded hours later, Hims & Hers is still significantly down since the FDA called off the shortage.
The company has previously said that it would sell generics of Novo’s older weight-loss drugs and “personalized” doses of semaglutide. “We’re committed to bringing our customers more treatment options that best suit their needs, and we’ve now expanded that choice even further by adding access to generic liraglutide and branded tirzepatide through our platform,” the company said in its announcement.
Lilly has struck deals to sell discounted vials of Zepbound on Ro, a privately held Hims & Hers competitor, and Amazon Pharmacy. Novo has launched its own direct-to-consumer platform to sell discounted Wegovy to patients without insurance.
