Novo Nordisk Ends Partnership with Hims & Hers, Joins Forces with WeightWatchers to Distribute Wegovy

Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) recently reached a cooperation agreement with WeightWatchers (WGHTQ.US) to sell its weight-loss drug Wegovy. Prior to this, the Danish pharmaceutical giant had just terminated a similar partnership with telehealth company Hims & Hers Health (HIMS.US), which originally allowed the latter to directly sell this star GLP-1 receptor agonist medication.

According to the new agreement, WeightWatchers, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May this year, will partner with CenterWell Pharmacy, under Humana (HUM.US), to sell Wegovy through Novo Nordisk's direct-to-consumer platform, NovoCare Pharmacy.

It is reported that in March this year, when Novo Nordisk launched the NovoCare Pharmacy platform, it designated CenterWell Pharmacy as its partner to provide prescription dispensing and delivery services for Wegovy to obese patients who are not covered by medical insurance.

Dave Moore, head of Novo Nordisk's U.S. operations, said: "WeightWatchers has been dedicated to the development of scientifically-based weight management solutions for more than 60 years, which aligns closely with our philosophy of improving long-term health outcomes."

He added, "We will continue to seek partnerships with like-minded companies, constantly improve our service initiatives, and help patients more conveniently access FDA-approved drug treatments."

Notably, Novo Nordisk just terminated its short-term collaboration with Hims & Hers this Monday. The agreement originally allowed its members to access Wegovy through NovoCare Pharmacy.

Novo Nordisk stated that although the shortage of Wegovy has been alleviated, the low-cost compounded version launched by Hims & Hers last year still does not comply with federal regulations, a statement that sparked strong protests from HIMS CEO Andrew Dudum.

Editor: Yu Jian SF069