Hems and Haws About Hims and Hers After Bubble Bursts On Yet Another Weight Loss Fad

From where I sit, a husky 260 pounds in a firm chair, weight-loss diets are fads not trends. Most are like comets; they see to reappear from time to time.

Atkins, Master Cleanse, intermittent fasting, Keto… and of course, the latest, GPL-1s, which are diabetes drugs with an off-label use of inducing significant weight loss.

The most famous GPL-1s are semaglutide and tirzepatide, drugs made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lily sold under the brands of names Ozempic and Wegovy, respectively.

There was massive demand because the drugs seemed safe and effective. So, there was a craze and understandable shortages.

A quirk in U.S. drug laws allowed compounding pharmacies to manufacture semaglutide and tirzepatide as long as they were considered to be in shortage.

The Food and Drug Administration recently declared an end to the shortages, meaning the compounding pharmacies need to stop making the drugs in bulk.

The abrupt end to the copycat business isn’t a surprise; the GLP-1 shortages were always bound to end. The fad would fade and major drug companies weren’t going to allow no-names to claim their market.

The biggest loser of all, appears to be Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIMS). Its core business is men’s ED drugs and women’s birth control.

It spent a fortune on a one-minute Super Bowl ad touting its generic semaglutide. The ad seemed to ignite a nearly 100% spike in HIMS share price.

Enter the FDA, now the stock is down 53%, at $34. But that price is still 139% higher than this time a year ago.

Trend versus fad, the trend will usually win.