Hims & Hers announced it will offer generic semaglutide through its direct-to-consumer virtual care platform to eligible customers in Canada, following Novo Nordisk's loss of Canadian patent protection for Ozempic and Wegovy last year.
The San Francisco-based company offers a direct-to-consumer telehealth and wellness platform for weight loss and GLP-1 treatments, mental health care, sexual health, hair loss, dermatology, hormone support, primary care, lab testing and women's health services, such as menopause and birth control.
Through the expansion, eligible Canadians will have access to personalized care plans that can include generic semaglutide options, starting at CAD 149 ($107 USD) per month.
Members will also have unlimited access to a Canadian care team and resources focused on sleep, movement and nutrition.
"Canada has a strong healthcare system, and we are committed to supporting and strengthening it," Austin Kouri, managing director at Hims & Hers Canada, said in a statement.
"Bringing generic semaglutide to the market means more Canadians have real and affordable access to this treatment. When patients have options and costs come down, everyone benefits. That's exactly the kind of impact we want to create."
THE LARGER TREND
In April, Health Canada announced its first authorization of a generic semaglutide, a generic version of Ozempic, filed by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. The generic semaglutide was the first to be approved in the G7. The agency said it is reviewing eight other submissions for generic semaglutide by different companies.
In February, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to consumers about unapproved and compounded GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, including products containing semaglutide, tirzepatide or retatrutide that are marketed online or by telehealth companies as alternatives to FDA-approved medications.
The agency's main concern is that these products have not undergone FDA review for safety, effectiveness or quality.
That same month, Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit against Hims & Hers, alleging the company was infringing its patents and misleading consumers by selling unsafe, unapproved compounded versions of its semaglutide drugs.
A month later, the pharmaceutical company dismissed the patent infringement lawsuit against Hims & Hers without prejudice, and the two companies announced a strategic partnership to allow Hims to sell Ozempic and Wegovy through its direct-to-consumer platform.
"As a part of this shift, [Hims & Hers] will no longer advertise compounded GLP-1 offerings on its platform or in its marketing, and existing patients will have the opportunity to transition to FDA-approved medicines when determined clinically appropriate by their providers," Hims & Hers said in a statement.
"For what is anticipated to be a limited set of customers whose clinical needs cannot be met using the increasingly varied set of commercially available FDA-approved GLP-1s, Hims & Hers plans to offer access to compounded GLP-1s if a provider determines that a compounded product is clinically necessary."
Last year, the Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk lost its patent protection in Canada on its popular semaglutide-based drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, after failing to pay a small fee to maintain it.