The Hims + Novo Deal Reveals a Quiet Concession About Compound Semaglutide
- Dave Knapp
- 24 hours ago
- 3 min read
A few days ago, Novo Nordisk announced a partnership with Hims. On paper, it looked simple enough. Hims would start offering cash pay Wegovy to patients on its platform. No insurance required. No prior auth hell. Just a branded obesity drug, finally a bit more accessible.
But something about it didn’t add up.
Hims still offers compounded semaglutide. They’ve built much of their weight loss business around it. And they haven’t taken it down. In fact, they’re still promoting it as a personalized option. So why would Novo, who is actively suing compounders and applying pressure to pharmacy boards, choose to partner with a company that hasn’t walked away from that space?

And let’s not forget, this is the same Hims that ran a highly controversial Super Bowl commercial earlier this year. The whole pitch was anti–big Pharma, anti–gatekeeping, anti–system. They called out the traditional model of healthcare as broken. That ad went viral because it hit a nerve. So for them to now ink a deal with one of the biggest players in the very system they criticized? Either something changed at Hims, or Novo made concessions behind closed doors to make this work.
The answer might be in Novo’s own language.
Lately, when Novo talks about compounding, they’re not saying all of it is illegal. They’re focused on unauthorized use, noncompliant production, and unapproved marketing. It’s careful legal phrasing that leaves room for what you might call the 503A escape hatch. That is, compounding for individual patients with specific needs, under the direction of a licensed prescriber.
This is a major shift.
If Novo truly believed all compounding of their GLP-1 products was illegitimate, they wouldn’t be in business with a company that still does it. Full stop.
So let’s call this what it is. A quiet concession.
Novo may not want to say it publicly, but their actions speak louder than any press release. By partnering with Hims while Hims continues to offer compounded semaglutide, Novo is acknowledging, at least implicitly, that personalized medicine is a legitimate reason for compounding. That matters.
Now, this doesn’t mean they’re backing down from enforcement. They’re not. They are suing. They are sending cease and desist letters. They are working with state boards. The crackdown is not something that might happen later. It is happening now.
But the Hims deal adds a layer of nuance. It shows that even in their pursuit of market control, Novo understands there’s a line they cannot easily cross. That line is individual patient need.
Of course, this might also be a coordinated strategy to phase people off compounds quietly. Just look at the pricing. If you want branded Wegovy through Hims, it’s $400 for a platform fee plus $499 for the drug. But if you pay six months up front, it drops to $599 per month, all in. Patients are expected to pay nearly $3,600 upfront, which locks them in as customers for six full months and gives Hims a nice boost to their revenue line in the process. That structure is not random. It is built to lock people in and create a seamless transition from compounded to branded meds.
And while Novo is pushing hard on Wegovy, it’s also worth noting that in the compounded world, semaglutide might not even be the biggest threat anymore. Demand for compounded tirzepatide is rapidly overtaking semaglutide, just like branded tirzepatide took the lead in the commercial GLP-1 market last quarter. Patients are learning the difference. Clinics are adjusting. Everyone is watching where this is headed.
So where does this leave us?
Novo is cracking down, but not indiscriminately. Hims is offering both options, but quietly nudging you toward the branded path. And somewhere in the middle is the quiet admission that personalized medicine, actual individualized care, is still protected. Still defensible. Still allowed.
That may be the most important signal yet.
Let’s talk.
Have you signed up for the Hims Wegovy program? Were you offered compounded meds first? Are you being nudged toward one or the other?
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