More worries for Novo Nordisk − A cheaper version of a diet pill from a competitor

A US low-cost drug company Hims & Hers said that it will launch a pill with the same active semaglutide ingredient as the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordiskin In Wegovy slimming drug.

The starting price of the new pill is clearly cheaper than Wegovy. According to the company, the price for the first month is $49 for new customers, after which the price is $99 per month for a prepaid five-month treatment period. According to financial magazine Barrons, Wegovy pills cost $149 for self-pay customers.

In a five-month treatment period, the price difference between the companies’ pills is about $300.

Novo Nordisk received FDA approval for oral Wegovy in December. It launched in the US in early January.

Today, Novo Nordisk published a press release about the plans for Hims & Hers. According to it, it is “illegal mass manufacturing that poses a significant risk to patient safety”.

The company intends to take legal action regarding the matter.

“This is yet another example of Hims & Hers’ historical behavior of deceiving American consumers with imitation GLP-1 products, and the FDA has previously warned them about misleading advertising of GLP-1 imitations,” Novo Nordisk said in a statement.

GLP-1 products are weight loss and diabetes medications.

The cooperation was short

According to Novo Nordisk, only they make a diet pill with FDA-approved technology that facilitates the absorption of semaglutide when taken orally.

According to Hims & Hers, their “semaglutide pill is formulated to protect the active ingredient during digestion and support absorption”, without however specifying the manufacturing method.

At the end of Hims & Hers’ release, it is also stated that their drugs are not approved or evaluated by the FDA.

Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers announced their cooperation plans in April last year. The intention was that Novo’s slimming drug Wegovy will be sold on the Hims & Hers website.

However, Novo canceled the cooperation already in May, accusing Hims & Hers of misleading advertising and selling illegal fake versions of Wegovy.

According to Reuters news in April, copies of Wegovy were already on sale last year. The FDA had allowed the sale of copies because the drug was in short supply. According to Novo’s view, there is no longer a shortage of the drug.

Novo Nordisk surprised investors by announcing its results on Tuesday evening, half a day earlier than expected. The company’s result did not surprise analysts, but the guidance was a big disappointment. The company’s stock has fallen by more than 20 percent in two days.