Novo Nordisk (NVG) stock might sue Hims & Hers over copycat weight-loss drug
Shares of Novo Nordisk (NVG) sank 8.2% on Thursday after rival Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (HIMS) launched a copycat version of the Danish healthcare company's Wegovy weight loss pill, with a starting price $100 cheaper than the original.
However, Novo immediately released a statement after the Hims launch, accusing its rival of "illegal mass compounding" that it says "poses a significant risk to patient safety."
"Novo Nordisk will take legal and regulatory action to protect patients, our intellectual property and the integrity of the US gold-standard drug approval framework," the company said in its statement.
Novo announced exactly a month before Hims' copycat drug was launched that its Wegovy pill was now widely available at pharmacies in the United States, saying that it "opens new possibilities for the more than 100 million Americans living with obesity."
The GLP-1 drug was approved by the Federal Drug Administration on Dec. 22. Novo noted in its statement on Thursday that it's the only company that manufactures an FDA-approved Wegovy pill.
"This is another example of Hims & Hers' historic behaviour of duping the American public with knock-off GLP-1 products, and the FDA has previously warned them about their deceptive advertising of GLP-1 knock-offs," Novo said.
Novo's Wegovy pill has a starting price of $149, while Hims's copycat pill starts at $49.
Hims has been warned by the FDA
According to Hims, its pill is a “Compounded Semaglutide Pill with the same active ingredient as Wegovy,” but also noted that compounded drugs “are not approved or evaluated for safety, effectiveness, or quality by the FDA.”
In fact, that disclaimer is now included after Hims got into trouble with the FDA, which sent a letter to CEO Andrew Dudum in September alleging that his company’s claims about its compounded semaglutide products that are used for weight loss are “false or misleading.”
Central to the FDA’s complaints were two specific statements made by the company in reference to its drugs: “Weekly injectable GLP-1 with the same active ingredient as Ozempic and Wegovy” and “Clinically proven ingredients.”
The FDA appeared to interpret these statements as implying that the compounded semaglutide drugs being offered by Hims & Hers were approved by the agency in the same way that Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy have been.
“Compounded drug products are not FDA-approved,” George Tidmarsh, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research wrote in his letter. “Your claims imply that your products are the same as an FDA-approved product when they are not.”
The FDA temporarily allowed compounded GLP-1 drugs during a supply shortage when Ozempic first hit the market and became an instant hit with consumers, but after the shortage ended, those alternatives are technically illegal.
Hims released a statement on X responding to Novo's legal threats, saying that its "track record speaks for itself" and that it is "focused on bringing more access, more positive outcomes, and more choice to customers everywhere."
"This is not the first time (nor will it be the last time) a big pharma company has suggested taking an accessible, customer-first approach to healthcare is dangerous, illegal, or bad for the marketplace," the company said. "This narrative is as predictable as it is outdated and false."
Novo is looking for a bit of a turnaround after the company lost about $60 billion in market value this week following the release of a sales and operating profit outlook showing that it expects sales to decline as much as 13% in 2026.
The company's stock has dropped 15.4% so far this year.
Meanwhile, shares of Hims fell 3.8% on Thursday following the release of its new weight-loss drug. Its stock has plunged 27.8% to start 2026.