Latest news with #NovoCare
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
America set for Ozempic EXPLOSION as drug is made available on telehealth giant for first time
The weight loss drug market is set to explode further with the announcement that Wegovy is set to be available via telehealth platforms at more affordable rates. Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk has revealed that working with online firms Hims & Hers, Ro and LifeMD to sell Wegovy, as it looks to stem sales of copies of its popular weight-loss drug and expand access to cash-paying patients. Hims & Hers said it will begin offering all doses of Wegovy this week, starting at $599 per month to eligible cash-paying patients with a prescription. Ro and LifeMD said they would offer access to all doses of the drug - which is a stronger version of Ozempic - for $499 per month. These offers will be available for uninsured patients or eligible patients with commercial insurance who do not have coverage for obesity medicines. Currently Wegovy has a list price of around $1,350 for a 28-day supply. This means that the medication could cost more than $16,000 per year without insurance or manufacturer discounts. GLP-1 drugs do require a prescription but all people have to do via telehealth platforms is make an online appointment with a doctor, see them briefly over a video chat and get an order signed off. Rival drugmaker Eli Lilly has made similar moves to make its obesity drug Zepbound more accessible to cash-paying patients, including working with Ro to offer the medicine through its platform. Shares of Hims & Hers jumped more than 25 percent in afternoon trading on announcement of the Wegovy launch, while LifeMD shares rose more than 36 percent. A US judge last week rejected a bid by compounding pharmacies to keep selling copies of Wegovy while a legal challenge over drug shortages plays out. Compounding pharmacies had been allowed to produce hundreds of thousands of doses of their versions of Novo's obesity and diabetes drugs while the FDA said the medicines were in short supply. Larger so-called outsourcing facilities, which make compounded drugs in bulk to sell to telehealth companies and others, have been given until May 22 to cease making the drug, while smaller compounding pharmacies must stop immediately. Hims & Hers and Ro started selling compounded versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Novo's diabetes drug Ozempic, last year. Hims CEO Andrew Dudum said the company will continue to offer personalized compounded versions of semaglutide on its platform. In an effort to make Wegovy more accessible to cash-paying patients earlier this year, Novo Nordisk launched its NovoCare pharmacy program to supply the drug at a reduced cost of $499. Later in March, it extended the offer to all eligible cash-paying customers at their local pharmacy. Patients can now access NovoCare directly through the three telehealth platforms. 'This should also be a very clear message that we have full supply of Wegovy... we want everyone to know that all doses are available,' Dave Moore, executive vice president of US operations for the Danish drugmaker said.
Bloomberg
29-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Novo Nordisk Teams With Telehealth Firms Hims, Ro to Sell Wegovy at Lower Price
Hims & Hers Health Inc. soared in pre-market trading after Novo Nordisk A/S said it would sell its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy for a reduced price on several telehealth platforms. Through NovoCare, Novo's new direct-to-consumer pharmacy platform, Hims, LifeMD Inc., and Ro will each sell a month's supply of Wegovy starting at $499. That's a 63% discount from the drug's US list price, before additional subscription fees.
Forbes
29-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Humana's CenterWell Expands Specialty Pharmacy As GLP-1 Drugs Take Off
Humana's CenterWell healthcare services business Tuesday said it would expand beyond its traditional ... More home-delivery pharmacy services business and will begin filling and shipping orders for the popular GLP-1 weight loss drug Wegovy that are prescribed through three telehealth companies: Hims & Hers Health, Inc., LifeMD and Ro. In this photo are images of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, an injectable prescription weight loss medicine that has helped people with obesity. (Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Humana is the latest health insurer to expand into the fast-growing and lucrative business of direct-to-patient specialty pharmacy as demand grows for popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Humana's CenterWell healthcare services business Tuesday said it would expand beyond its traditional home-delivery pharmacy services business and will begin filling and shipping orders for the popular GLP-1 weight loss drug Wegovy that are prescribed through three telehealth companies: Hims & Hers Health, Inc., LifeMD and Ro. The partnership was disclosed by Humana and Novo Nordisk that CenterWell Pharmacy will be its fulfillment partner for NovoCare, a pharmacy the drug maker launched a month ago to provide 'direct-to-patient, convenient home shipments of all dose strengths of Wegovy at a reduced cost of $499 per month for cash-paying patients,' Novo Nordisk said last month. CenterWell pharmacy's partnership with Novo Nordisk is directed at cash-paying consumers, or what the industry calls 'self-pay' patients, who don't have health insurance coverage for anti-obesity drugs, which are dropping in price but even with discounts cost several hundred dollars an injection. 'Under the arrangement, CenterWell is helping consumers benefit from reduced cost and convenient access to safe and effective brand-name medications,' CenterWell pharmacy senior vice president Guillermo Sollberger said in a statement released during the annual at Asembia ASX25, which draws more than 8,000 companies tied to the specialty pharmacy industry this week to Las Vegas. The partnership also comes in the wake of the Trump White House's decision earlier this month to scrap a Biden administration proposal to have Medicare health plans for seniors and Medicaid insurance for low-income Americans cover weight loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy. CenterWell and Novo Nordisk see 'direct-to-patient' partnerships as a way to expand access to those without health insurance coverage for certain prescriptions. Novocare follows a similar effort launched last year called LillyDirect, a direct-to-patient effort from Eli Lilly, maker of the GLP-1 drug Zepbound. 'NovoCare Pharmacy is a direct-to-patient delivery option that offers cash-paying patients the GLP-1 medication, Wegovy, at a reduced cost of $499 per month,' Sollberger said. 'Under the arrangement, CenterWell is helping consumers benefit from reduced cost and convenient access to safe and effective brand-name medications.' It's the latest health insurer to expand deeper into specialty pharmacy. Already, UnitedHealth Group's OptumRx and CVS Health, which owns the health insurer Aetna, have expanded more into specialty pharmacy. Optum, for example, has 15 Optum Specialty Pharmacies and two 'Optum Frontier Therapies' that the company says help patients with rare and complex conditions, helping them access more than 200 specialty drugs. And Cigna, which owns Evernorth health services, has expanded its Accredo Specialty Pharmacy since it was part of the company's 2018 Express Scripts purchase and today serves 900,000 patients and ships 7 million prescriptions annually. Meanwhile, And a year ago, Elevance Health, which operates Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, a year ago bought the grocery chain Kroger's specialty pharmacy and the year before bought BioPlus. Eventually, drug makers and pharmacies see direct-to-patient models emerging for other new medicines, particularly as technology advances like telehealth that allows Americans to more easily obtain prescription drugs. 'Direct-to-patient distribution models like this are likely to evolve beyond GLP-1s to include other medication categories like migraine therapies and women's/men's health,' CenterWell's Sollberger said. 'CenterWell Pharmacy is well positioned to scale such programs, with the agility to meet the needs of this growing market.'
Hindustan Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Hims & Hers inks deal with Novo Nordisk to offer discounted ‘weight loss drug Wegovy'
Novo Nordisk A/S is partnering with telehealth companies including Hims & Hers Health Inc., LifeMD Inc., and Ro to offer its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy to more US patients at a reduced price. Through NovoCare, Novo's new direct-to-consumer pharmacy platform, the companies will sell a month's supply of Wegovy starting at $499 — roughly a 63% discount from the drug's US list price, before additional subscription fees. Hims shares rose as much as 31% before markets opened in New York, while Novo erased earlier losses to rise as much as 3.3% in Copenhagen trading. The strategy comes as rival Eli Lilly & Co. has teamed up with telehealth firms like Ro to distribute lower-cost vials of its own obesity medication, Zepbound. Lilly doesn't have a similar partnership with Hims, which sells Zepbound independently at a premium compared to Lilly's discounted offering. Meanhwile, $HIMS Founder & CEO Andrew Dudum gave update on the company's brand-new partnership with Novo Nordisk via video statement on X. Novo's expansion is aimed at filling the gap — and signals growing confidence in its ability to meet booming demand for weight-loss treatments, according to Dave Moore, the company's executive vice president for US operations. 'We have an opportunity to really meaningfully meet patients where they are,' Moore said. He added that Novo and its partners share 'a joint view' on making real Wegovy more accessible and affordable. Novo's drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are slated for US government price negotiations starting in 2027. Demand for weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound has surged, and telehealth companies have played a major role by making it easier to obtain prescriptions. During widespread supply shortages last year, many of these companies — including Hims and Ro — sold compounded versions of the drugs at steep discounts. Hundreds of thousands of Americans came to rely on compounded medications, which are made by pharmacies and don't undergo the same Food and Drug Administration approval process as branded or generic drugs. Novo and Lilly have pushed back through lawsuits and public warnings, aiming to steer patients away from compounded products. Now, with supply chains restored, the US Food and Drug Administration has said that mass compounding of these drugs must end. That could leave thousands of patients without access to low-cost alternatives — a gap Novo says it is prepared to fill. Moore described the new pricing and partnerships as a significant shift. 'This is a change,' he said. 'This is different than where we have been the last couple of years.' Novo began exploring partnerships with firms like Hims and Ro as the compounding era neared its end. 'Our teams have been getting to know each other for a while,' said Andrew Dudum, chief executive officer of Hims. He emphasized a strong alignment between leadership teams around expanding access and thinking creatively about care delivery. Dudum said the companies view the Wegovy deal as a first step and plan to partner on additional offerings, though he didn't give specifics. Both Hims and Ro operate subscription models. Under the new program, Hims will sell Wegovy for $599 a month, which includes a membership offering clinical and nutritional support. Ro will charge $499 a month for Wegovy, plus a $145 membership fee after the first month. Hims also offers generic versions of liraglutide, the active ingredient in Novo's older weight-loss drug Saxenda, through its platform. Hims plans to continue offering compounded versions of Wegovy to a limited group of patients who may require non-standard dosages, according to Dudum. He noted that given the drug's side effects — such as nausea, vomiting, and muscle loss — 'there's a cohort of patients that absolutely need this level of personalization.' Compounders can still make alternative versions of the drugs if they modify doses, add other ingredients or change the route of administration in compliance with FDA rules.
Bloomberg
29-04-2025
- Health
- Bloomberg
Novo Nordisk Teams With Telehealth Firms Him, Ro to Sell Wegovy at Lower Price
By Updated on Save Novo Nordisk A/S is partnering with telehealth companies including Hims & Hers Health Inc., LifeMD Inc., and Ro to offer its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy to more US patients at a reduced price. Through NovoCare, Novo's new direct-to-consumer pharmacy platform, the companies will sell a month's supply of Wegovy starting at $499 — roughly a 63% discount from the drug's US list price, before additional subscription fees.
