San Francisco, April 23, 2026, 09:20 PDT
Hims & Hers Health announced Thursday that its providers are now able to send prescriptions for Eli Lilly’s Zepbound vials, the Zepbound KwikPen, and the Foundayo pill directly to LillyDirect. With this move, the telehealth company is expanding its reach into branded obesity treatments. The company said that, combined with its previous Novo Nordisk partnership, it now offers what it describes as the full lineup of FDA-approved GLP-1 drugs on its platform.
This shift is crucial for Hims, which is looking to step away from compounded versions—pharmacy-mixed imitations of branded drugs—right as U.S. regulators clamp down on the loopholes that allowed those products to proliferate during supply shortages. GLP-1s, a red-hot category of obesity and diabetes treatments known for curbing appetite and lowering blood sugar, now face a more competitive, cash-pay landscape. Lilly and Novo are slashing prices, doubling down on direct sales, and pushing harder into telehealth.
There’s no formal tie-up with Lilly here. According to Hims, clinicians using its platform are able to send prescriptions to LillyDirect’s pharmacy options for customers paying out of pocket. Lilly, on its end, frames LillyDirect as a combination of pharmacy fulfillment, care navigation, and connections to outside telehealth platforms.
Price gets top billing in the sales pitch. As of Thursday, Hims listed Foundayo starting at $149 per month, Zepbound vials and KwikPen from $299, and Wegovy pills from $149. The company tacks on a separate weight-loss membership: $39 for the initial month, then $149 each month after. Lilly has put out its own numbers—Foundayo at $149 for self-pay, Zepbound at $299 via LillyDirect.
Back in March, Hims pivoted, signing an agreement with Novo Nordisk to carry Wegovy and Ozempic while pulling ads for compounded GLP-1s off its U.S. site. At the time, Chief Executive Andrew Dudum described the shift as aiming for “a new model that works for everyday people.” Hims Investors
Hims has been swept into a broader channel battle almost overnight. Last month, Novo began offering cheaper Wegovy subscriptions via telehealth outfits like Ro, WeightWatchers, and LifeMD. Lilly, meanwhile, keeps expanding LillyDirect and pushing its self-pay discounts. “Patients want easier and clearer ways of facilitating payment,” said Ed Cinca, Novo’s senior vice president of marketing and patient solutions, as the role of the patient shifts to “the consumer of health.” Reuters
Lilly has also been moving quickly to carve out a presence in the oral weight-loss drug space. Its once-daily GLP-1 pill, Foundayo, cleared approval on April 1 and hit wide distribution through both retail pharmacies and telehealth outlets by April 9. “Path from prescription to doorstep as simple as possible,” is how Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA, described the company’s approach. Eli Lilly and Company
Hims’ wide consumer base doesn’t necessarily mean profits will follow. Michael Cherny at Leerink Partners noted the Lilly deal could expand access, but it’s not obvious where that leaves Hims in the value chain. Back in March, Morningstar’s Kadyn Kim flagged “a lot of question marks” around possible litigation and regulatory shifts. Investors
Investors showed little conviction. Hims shares whipped up to $32.16 following the news, then slipped back to $28.89—essentially unchanged by 9:00 a.m. Pacific. Lilly and Novo traded slightly down.
Affordability remains a persistent shadow across the sector. Last week, Lilly CEO David Ricks pointed out that GLP-1 medicines have largely remained “for people with means,” despite some price declines. That push and pull — expanding access while margins narrow and insurance coverage stays inconsistent — looks set to define where the obesity-drug battle heads next. Reuters
