Hims & Hers Health Inc (NYSE:HIMS) shares are trading lower Thursday in possible sympathy with Eli Lilly And Co's (NYSE:LLY), after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed it from the weight-loss and diabetes drugs shortage list.
What Happened: The FDA said in a statement late Wednesday that Eli Lilly's supply of Mounjaro, which is used to treat diabetes, and weight-loss drug Zepbound can now keep up with current demand.
Mounjaro had been on the regulator's shortage list since late 2022, and Zepbound had been on the list since April.
"FDA confirmed with the drug's manufacturer that their stated product availability and manufacturing capacity can meet the present and projected national demand. Patients and prescribers may still see intermittent localized supply disruptions as the products move through the supply chain from the manufacturer and distributors to local pharmacies," the FDA said.
Hims & Hers Health shares are under pressure on Thursday as the firm sells cheaper versions of the aforementioned drugs, known as compounded drugs. Hims & Hers said in May that it would begin selling compounded versions of GLP-1 injections. Shares surged on the news and have more than doubled since the start of the year.
Don't Miss: EXCLUSIVE: GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs Could Become A Trillion-Dollar Market, Predicts Tema ETFs CEO
The limited supply for weight-loss and diabetes drugs from Lilly and rival Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) sparked a demand boom for compounded drugs, which are made by combining, mixing, or altering drug ingredients, per Reuters.
The report also indicates that regulators allow compounded versions of drugs to enter the market to meet demand when there is a shortage. When there is no shortage, compounded drug makers are reportedly unable to make "regular or inordinate amounts" of the drugs.
Lilly reportedly began selling vials of its lowest dose of Zepbound in the U.S. directly to consumers via its website to help push back against the rise of compounded versions of the drug. Novo Nordisk's drugs were still listed on the FDA's shortage list as of Thursday.
HIMS Price Action: Hims & Hers Health shares were down 8.92% at $17.26 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.
Photo: Natalia Varlei from Shutterstock.
