Novo Nordisk sues Hims & Hers over copycat versions of Wegovy drugs; Hims stock plunges

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/09/novo-nordisk-sues-hims-hers-compounded-obesity-drugs.html Novo Nordisk on Monday said it is suing online telehealth provider Hims & Hers for mass marketing cheaper, unapproved copies of the drugmaker’s new Wegovy obesity pill and injections in the U.S. Novo is asking the court to permanently ban Hims from selling compounded versions of its drugs that infringe on the company’s patents and is seeking to recover damages. “This is a complete sham, and it has been a sham since the shortage ended,” said John Kuckelman, Novo’s group general counsel of global legal, intellectual property and security, in an interview. “The fact is that their medicines are untested, and they’re putting patients at risk,” he added, referring to how the safety, efficacy and quality of compounded medicines are not verified by U.S. regulators. The move escalates the feud between Novo and Hims, which said on Saturday it will stop offering its new copycat obesity pill after facing scrutiny from federal regulators and legal threats from the Danish drugmaker. Hims had planned to offer the oral drug for as little as $49 for the first month, roughly $100 less than Novo’s approved Wegovy pill. In a statement on Monday, Hims said the lawsuit is “a blatant attack by a Danish company on millions of Americans who rely on compounded medications for access to personalized care” and is another case of Big Pharma “weaponizing the US judicial system to limit consumer choice.“ Hims added it has a “long history of providing safe access to personalized healthcare” to patients. The lawsuit comes as Novo works to reclaim market share in the booming obesity drug market and fend off competition from both Eli Lilly and a wave of compounded alternatives. Those copycats have proliferated under a regulatory loophole that allows companies like Hims to sell compounded versions of patent-protected drugs when branded treatments are in short supply.