Novo Nordisk Shares Rise After Hims & Hers Withdraws Compounded Semaglutide Offering

Novo Nordisk shares climbed 8% on Monday after telehealth provider Hims & Hers announced it would remove its compounded semaglutide pill from the market. Novo and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had signaled potential legal action after Hims & Hers began offering a pill marketed as a lower‑cost alternative to Wegovy for about $49, roughly $100 less than Novo’s direct‑to‑consumer price on its NovoCare platform.

Hims & Hers said on social media that, following industry discussions, it would cease offering the compounded semaglutide treatment and reaffirmed its commitment to providing safe, affordable care to its customers. The initial news that a $49 copycat product was available prompted sharp market moves last week, with shares of Novo and rival Eli Lilly falling and Hims & Hers initially rising before paring gains when Novo threatened legal action. In early Monday trading, Novo shares were up 8.2%, though the stock remains nearly 50% lower over the past 12 months; Hims & Hers fell about 13.6% in premarket trade and Eli Lilly declined 2.4%.

Hims & Hers has benefited from selling compounded versions of injectable semaglutide under a regulatory pathway that permits compounding when branded medicines are in short supply. Novo’s semaglutide formulations, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, experienced shortages earlier in the GLP‑1 surge, but the company has since expanded production capacity, including the $16.5 billion acquisition of fill‑finish manufacturer Catalent, and reports that supply constraints have been resolved. The pill formulation at issue launched in January and no shortages have been reported for it.

On Friday, the FDA said it planned to take “decisive steps” to limit compounding practices that the agency cannot verify for quality, safety or efficacy, and warned it would act against misleading direct‑to‑consumer advertising that implies non‑FDA‑approved compounded products are equivalent to approved drugs. Hims’ semaglutide product is not FDA‑approved.

Novo has cited compounding and related U.S. market dynamics as factors weighing on sales, and it projects revenue and profit declines of between 5% and 13% in 2026. The company announced on Thursday that it would pursue legal action against Hims & Hers, characterizing the compounding activity as illegal mass compounding that poses patient safety risks and accusing Hims & Hers of marketing knock‑off GLP‑1 products and engaging in deceptive advertising.