Novo Nordisk Sues Hims & Hers Over Wegovy Copycats — And the $49 Obesity Pill That Lasted Just Two Days
The most explosive battle in the $100 billion GLP-1 drug market erupted into open warfare this week. Novo Nordisk filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Hims & Hers Health on Monday, seeking to permanently ban the telehealth company from selling compounded versions of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy. The lawsuit came just two days after Hims launched — and then abruptly pulled — a $49-per-month oral semaglutide pill that undercut Novo's FDA-approved Wegovy pill by roughly $100. The legal salvo, combined with a parallel FDA crackdown on compounded GLP-1 ingredients, has sent Hims & Hers stock into freefall. Shares plunged 16% on Monday and dropped another 5.4% on Tuesday to $18.29, bringing the total decline over the past month to approximately 40%. Hims now trades at $18.29 — a staggering 75% below its 52-week high of $72.98. Novo Nordisk, by contrast, rallied 3.6% on Monday and held steady Tuesday at $49.63, though the Danish giant has its own problems: its stock sits 47% below its own 52-week high of $93.80 amid fierce competition and disappointing 2026 guidance. This is no longer a skirmish over compounding pharmacies. It is a defining legal and regulatory showdown that will determine who controls access to the most lucrative class of drugs in a generation — and at what price 1.5 million Americans currently using compounded GLP-1s will pay for their treatment.