Novo Nordisk has had it up to here with knockoff Ozempic

On a day when Hims & Hers likely expected to be riding the high from its Super Bowl commercial, the telehealth company found itself playing defense following a lawsuit from Novo Nordisk.

Novo has sued Hims & Hers for patent infringement, saying the online site is selling cheaper, unapproved copies of the Wegovy weight loss drug. Hims, on Saturday, said it would stop offering the pill, saying in a social media post "Since launching the compounded semaglutide pill on our platform, we’ve had constructive conversations with stakeholders across the industry. As a result, we have decided to stop offering access to this treatment."

Novo is asking the court to permanently prohibit Hims from putting the drug back on the market as well as damages.

"Hims & Hers is mass marketing unapproved knock-off versions of Wegovy and Ozempic that evade the FDA’s gold standard review process – that’s dangerous and deceptive to patients, and undermines the scientific innovation and regulatory rigor in place to ensure these treatments are safe and effective,” said John F. Kuckelman, senior vice president, Group General Counsel, Global Legal, IP, and Security in a statement.

Hims & Hers, in response to the Novo suit, characterized the filing as an attack on consumer choice.

"Novo Nordisk’s lawsuit is a blatant attack by a Danish company on millions of Americans who rely on compounded medications for access to personalized care," a spokesperson told Quartz. "Once again, Big Pharma is weaponizing the U.S. judicial system to limit consumer choice. This lawsuit attacks more than just one medication or company – it directly assaults a well-established, vital component of U.S. pharmacy practice that has improved patient care for everything from obesity to infertility to cancer."

Hims had planned to offer the oral drug for as little as $49 for the first month. That's $100 less than what Novo charges for its Wegovy pill (which also was featured in a Super Bowl ad on Sunday). Novo has been working to regain market share in the weight loss space. The Wegovy pill has been extremely popular with consumers since hitting the market last month.

Hims had said its pill included semaglutide — the active ingredient in Novo’s pill. That drug, however, is patented by Novo through 2032 and the company does not license it for competing products.

Hims' removal of the product was less driven by Novo's impending legal action and more by an announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that it was planning legal actions of its own surrounding the drugs.

"These actions are aimed to safeguard consumers from drugs for which the FDA cannot verify quality, safety, or efficacy," the FDA said in a release.