Hims & Hers has struck a deal with Eli Lilly to offer the drugmaker’s branded obesity treatments through its online health and wellness platform.
Under the terms of the agreement, Eli Lilly will give Hims & Hers pharmacies direct access to its U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved GLP-1 medications at affordable prices. Eligible patients on the Hims & Hers platform can be prescribed and ordered Eli Lilly’s Zepbound injectable (tirzepatide) and daily oral medication Foundayo (orforglipron) without leaving the company’s platform.
Prior to this deal, Lilly’s medications were only available to patients on Hims & Hers if they left the site and went to Lilly’s direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect.
Shares of Hims & Hers jumped 8% on Friday following the announcement of the partnership with Eli Lilly.
The deal brings together Lilly’s obesity medications and Hims & Hers’ consumer platform to expand consumer access to FDA-approved weight loss medications, the companies said.
“Patients can complete a consultation, receive a prescription if their provider deems it appropriate, and have an FDA-approved Lilly medication shipped directly to their home, all in one experience,” the companies said in a press release.
Self-paid pricing starts at $149 per month for Foundayo and $299 per month for Zepbound.
“At Lilly, we’re always looking for new ways to help more people get the medicines they need, and that means meeting patients where they already are,” Ilya Yuffa, executive vice president and president of Lilly USA and global customer capabilities for Eli Lilly and Company, said in a statement. “Millions of people turn to Hims & Hers for their care, and with this agreement, these patients now have a simple, more direct way to get the FDA-approved Lilly medicine at an affordable price if prescribed.”
Hims & Hers’ technology platform supports provider outreach, follow-up care and treatment planning. Weight loss patients on Hims & Hers receive a membership experience that includes 24/7 access to a care team, nutritional counseling, regular clinical check-ins and access to the Hims & Hers Weight Loss community, according to the company.
The deal with Eli Lilly mirrors Hims & Hers’ partnership with Novo Nordisk, which has been selling its Wegovy and Ozempic brand weight-loss drugs through Hims & Hers since March. Novo previously sued the telehealth company for offering compounded versions of its medications. Hims & Hers’ deal with Novo marked a shift in its obesity strategy toward FDA-approved branded GLP-1 treatments and away from cheaper compounded GLP-1 drugs.
Earlier this year, Hims & Hers came under fire from the pharmaceutical maker and federal regulators after announcing plans to launch a knockoff of Novo’s oral pill. Under pressure, he abandoned these plans.
Hims & Hers said it has never offered access to compound copies of Lilly’s GLP-1 drugs and has pledged not to do so in the future.
As part of the agreement, the companies committed to protecting independent clinical decision-making, so that providers on the Hims & Hers platform continue to prescribe the treatment they deem appropriate for each patient.
“Lilly is one of the most innovative pharmaceutical companies in history, and I am incredibly proud that Hims & Hers is helping to ensure that more people can access the medicines they created,” Andrew Dudum, co-founder and CEO of Hims & Hers, said in a statement. “By working together, we are not only reaching more people suffering from obesity with personal, transparent access to FDA-approved Lilly medicine. We are showing the industry what innovators can achieve for customers around the world when we work together to make the world a better place.”
Hims & Hers has faced financial pressures as it transitions from high-margin GLP-1 compounds to lower-margin branded weight-loss drugs. The company reported a first-quarter loss of $92 million, including $33 million in restructuring costs, largely due to writedowns in its GLP-1 supply chain, which executives said faced “obsolescence risk.”
In the second quarter, Hims & Hers reported a loss of $86 million, compared to a profit of $43 million a year earlier. The quarter included $81 million in one-time costs, including expenses related to its release of GLP-1 compounds.
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