Novo Nordisk sued Hims and Hers Health on Monday over patent infringement after the U.S. telehealth firm launched, then cancelled, a $49 copy of Novo’s weight-loss pill Wegovy following a swift backlash from U.S. authorities. Novo’s shares rose 5%, while Hims sank 20%. Shares of Novo and rival Eli Lilly had tumbled last week after Hims introduced the cut-price pill, which had looked set to erode Novo’s takings and jeopardise its shift towards a cash-pay consumer market.
The lawsuit, which covers Novo’s weight-loss drug in pill and injectable forms, highlights the friction between obesity drugmakers and companies selling copies based on the same active ingredients, harming the earnings of the original drug manufacturers. “There is now a growing chorus of parties that have said, ‘Enough is enough on the compounding situation in the United States,'” Novo Nordisk’s general counsel, John Kuckelman, told Reuters, adding that Hims’ pill launch was a “tipping point.” The lawsuit, Hims said, was a “blatant attack” by Novo on “millions of Americans who rely on compounded medications for access to personalized care.” “Once again, Big Pharma is weaponizing the U.S. judicial system to limit consumer choice,” it said.
