Eli Lilly (LLY.US) "Drops Its Airs" and Teams Up with Former Rival Hims (HIMS.US) to Grab a Share of the Self-Pay Weight-Loss Drug Market

Eli Lilly (LLY.US) is teaming up with Hims & Hers Health Inc. (HIMS.US), leveraging the telehealth company's vast customer base to bring its blockbuster weight-loss drugs to a broader population, thereby boosting sales of medications including its new oral weight-loss drug Foundayo. The agreement announced Friday will make it easier for customers on the Hims platform to obtain Lilly's weight-loss drugs directly at discounted prices. For Lilly, the partnership provides another channel to reach patients willing to pay out of pocket for obesity treatmenta group that is becoming increasingly important in the booming market. "Our goal is to improve drug accessibility through as many channels as possible, to understand where consumers are, and to provide services where they are accustomed to receiving them," Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA and global customer capabilities, said in an interview. The partnership also marks a surprising reconciliation: the pharmaceutical giant had previously deliberately kept its distance from Hims, a telehealth platform, over issues related to compounded weight-loss drugs. The shift reflects a broader landscape change in the obesity treatment market: drugmakers are increasingly embracing the telehealth companies they once sought to curbcompanies that had previously sold cheap copycat versions of their drugs. Platforms like Hims have built massive businesses serving millions of people paying out of pocket for treatment, making them valuable partners for pharmaceutical companies seeking to reach patients outside traditional insurance channels. "Users want to get care here, they expect to see a doctor here, and they demand a high-quality, consumer-friendly experience. This also confirms that the industry is undergoing a transformation: innovations can reach users directly, cutting out cumbersome intermediaries," Hims CEO Andrew Dudum said in an interview. According to Yuffa, about 30% to 40% of patients obtain obesity drugs through telehealth channels. Lilly has already established partnerships with several telehealth companies, including Ro and Weight Watchers. Earlier this year, Hims announced a similar partnership with Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B (NVO.US), ending months of discord between the two sides. Yuffa said that previously, patients using Hims had to leave the telehealth platform to obtain Lilly's drugs, a process that prevented them from actually completing treatment. This meant relatively few Hims customers were able to access Lilly's drugs. Now, they will be able to more seamlessly enjoy the discounts Lilly offers to self-pay patients. Lilly's newly launched obesity pill Foundayo costs $149 per month at the lowest dose, while Zepbound starts at $299 per month. The partnership could also expand Foundayo's customer basethe drug's sales in the three months through October fell short of expectations. However, Lilly has recently ramped up marketing around the drug, including launching a new ad featuring Martha Stewart. For Hims, the agreement opens another growth avenue as it shifts from compounded GLP-1 drugs to FDA-approved medications, potentially easing tensions with one of the industry's most powerful drugmakers. Lilly has been among the most vocal critics of companies selling unapproved versions of its drugs, vowing not to work with such companies and even filing lawsuits against some. Yuffa emphasized that Hims has never sold compounded versions of Lilly's drugs and has committed not to do so in the future, which was a key consideration in Lilly's decision to ultimately partner with the company. The partnership could eventually extend to Lilly's next-generation therapies. Dudum said he expects the two sides to deepen collaboration in the coming years as Lilly's product portfolio continues to expand, particularly around a highly anticipated obesity drug, retatrutide. "In the coming years, we will collaborate around all upcoming expanded products, including drugs like retatrutide launching next year and all innovations in that pipeline," Dudum said.