Big Pharma Vs. Cheap Pills – Novo Nordisk Takes Hims To Court, Hims Stock Crashes

Novo Nordisk turned the gloves back on Monday. The Danish drugmaker filed suit against telehealth company Hims & Hers, asking a US court to permanently block the sale of compounded copies of its Wegovy weight-loss drug and to recover damages – and the market reacted fast: Hims’ stock plunged roughly 27% while Novo’s ticked higher.

What’s at stake is simple and messy at the same time. Novo says Hims mass-marketed unapproved, compounded versions of semaglutide – the active ingredient in Wegovy – in a way that violates Novo’s patents and puts patients at risk because these knockoffs aren’t vetted by regulators.