Traditional medical practices are getting a boost from new entrants seeking to fill gaps in what health industry executives described Monday as a backward health care system.
That includes Hims & Hers, a direct-to-consumer healthcare company that announced Monday it would release one Compound version of the weight loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic That starts at $199 per month, 85% less than the branded versions of Novo Nordisk. The two belong to a group of so-called GLP-1 drugs that are approved for the treatment of diabetes but have become widespread popular for weight loss.
The move comes as the company focuses on personalization and customer choice to improve the traditionally “paternalistic” medical system, Dr. Patrick Carroll, Chief Medical Officer of Hims & Hers Assets‘s Brainstorm Health conference.
In the past, doctors have dictated many aspects of a person’s health, which does not mesh well with the freedom of choice that patients now expect from their health care, Dr. Carroll.
“Traditional care models are not a solution to this $4.5 trillion health care mess,” he said.
Hims & Hers adapts to the modern patient by publishing symptom content that educates people and helps them learn about the company’s platform. In this way, the company wants to reach those who use it Google or social media as the first resource for medical questions.
“It’s very different than it was 20 or even 10 years ago, but this is the model of the future,” Carroll said. “People are looking for answers online.”
Although Carroll admitted that the $199 price tag for the company’s new product is still high for some customers, he emphasized that Hims & Her’s new GLP-1 weight loss drug uses the same active ingredient as the brand-name drugs, leading to the Partly due to the partnership with a manufacturer of generic drugs that he did not name.
Hims & Hers’ efforts to bring a weight-loss drug to market reflects increased demand for branded versions that Novo Nordisk and other manufacturers like Eli Lilly strive to increase production.
Although Wegovy and Ozempic are protected by patents, U.S. regulators allow pharmacies to manufacture them composite versions of drugs that are in short supply, but the Food and Drug Administration does not test these locally manufactured drug versions for safety. In a January opinionthe agency warned against people using compounded forms of weight-loss medications when FDA-approved versions are available.
However, compounded versions of weight loss medications are becoming increasingly popular with consumers as providers of branded versions are limited.