Hims & Hers Erupts In Epic Squeeze As Novo Nordisk Ends GLP-1 Feud

Novo Nordisk confirmed Monday morning that its months-long GLP-1 feud with telehealth firm Hims & Hers Health has, at least for now, been put on ice, with the Danish drugmaker set to sell Wegovy and Ozempic through HIMS’ platform by the end of the month. The feud’s end was first reported by Bloomberg late Friday and has sparked a panic short squeeze in heavily shorted HIMS shares in New York premarket trading.

Bloomberg headlines crossed around 8:30 a.m. ET, stating that HIMS will no longer offer knockoff GLP-1 drugs on its telehealth platform and will instead offer NOVO’s GLP-1 shots and the Wegovy pill. In return, NOVO has withdrawn its patent infringement lawsuit against Hims.

“We see tremendous growth opportunities in the US with the expanding assortment of branded GLP-1 medications,” said HIMS CEO Andrew Dudum.

Dudum continued, “I’m excited to have a great partner in Novo Nordisk as we work to create a new model that works for everyday people. This collaboration reflects what’s possible globally when drugmakers, biotech companies, and diagnostic leaders partner with consumer platforms to support scaled distribution of their latest medical innovations.”

As we noted over the weekend, the move is very surprising because NOVO and HIMS have been locked in an epic GLP-1 feud for months. Just last month, Novo sued HIMS over a copycat Wegovy pill and patent infringement tied to Ozempic and Wegovy. Even the head of the FDA recently stated that telehealth firms were put on notice about copycat GLP-1s.

Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny told clients over the weekend that the NOVO and HIMS news via the Bloomberg report from Friday is a “surprise and an unabashed positive for Hims’ stock.”

And positive it is for the heavily shorted stock, with 39.1% of its float short, or 81 million shares.

HIMS shares are up 52% in premarket trading.

Novo shares in Copenhagen are marginally higher, as we believe both firms making amends was largely driven by investor pressure to halt year-to-date sharp stock losses at both companies.

Friends again. How long will this last?