Eli Lilly (LLY.US) "lowers its stance" and joins forces with former rival Hims (HIMS.US) to compete for the self-pay weight loss drug market

According to Zhitong Finance APP, Eli Lilly (LLY.US) is collaborating with Hims & Hers Health Inc. (HIMS.US), leveraging the telehealth company’s large customer base to bring its blockbuster weight-loss drug to a broader audience and boost sales of its medications, including the new oral weight-loss drug Foundayo.

The agreement announced on Friday will allow Hims platform customers to conveniently access Eli Lilly’s weight-loss medications directly via the platform at discounted prices. For Eli Lilly, this partnership offers another path to reach patients willing to pay out of pocket for obesity treatment — a market segment that is becoming increasingly important in the rapidly growing sector.

“Our goal is to enhance medicine accessibility through diversified channels, understand where consumers are, and provide services in the environments they’re accustomed to,” said Ilya Yuffa, President of Lilly USA and Global Customer Capabilities, in an interview.

This partnership also marks a surprising reconciliation: previously, the pharmaceutical giant had deliberately kept its distance from Hims, a telehealth platform, due to issues related to compounded weight-loss drugs.

This shift reflects broader changes in the obesity treatment market: pharmaceutical companies are increasingly embracing the very telehealth companies they once tried to restrict—these companies previously sold cheaper generic versions of their drugs. Platforms like Hims have built substantial businesses serving millions of self-paying patients, making them valuable partners for pharma companies seeking to reach patients outside traditional insurance channels.

Hims CEO Andrew Dudum said in an interview, “Users want to receive consultation and care here, and they expect a high-quality, consumer-friendly experience. This also highlights the industry transformation underway: innovation can now go directly to the user, bypassing cumbersome intermediaries.”

According to Yuffa, about 30% to 40% of patients obtain obesity medications via telehealth channels. Lilly has established partnerships with several telehealth companies, including Ro and Weight Watchers.

Earlier this year, Hims announced a similar collaboration with Ozempic’s manufacturer Novo Nordisk (NVO.US), ending months of discord between the two parties.

Yuffa stated that previously, patients using Hims had to leave the telehealth platform to access Lilly’s medications, a process that hindered completion of their treatment. As a result, relatively few Hims customers could obtain Lilly’s drugs.

Now, they will be able to seamlessly enjoy discounts that Lilly offers self-paying patients. The lowest dose of Lilly’s newly launched obesity pill Foundayo costs $149 per month, while Zepbound starts at $299 per month.

This partnership could also expand Foundayo’s customer base—the drug’s quarterly sales in the three months ending October underperformed expectations. However, Lilly has recently ramped up marketing for the drug, including a new advertisement featuring Martha Stewart.

For Hims, the agreement opens another growth avenue, as it shifts from compounded GLP-1 medications toward FDA-approved drugs in the U.S., potentially easing tensions with one of the industry’s most powerful pharmaceutical firms. Lilly has been among the most vocal critics of companies selling unapproved versions of its medications, vowing not to cooperate with such firms and even pursuing lawsuits against some.

Yuffa emphasized that Hims has never sold compounded versions of Lilly’s medications and has committed never to do so in the future, which was a key reason Lilly ultimately chose to partner with them.

The partnership could eventually extend to Lilly’s next-generation therapies. Dudum said he expects both companies to deepen cooperation in coming years as Lilly’s product portfolio continues to grow, especially around the highly anticipated obesity drug retatrutide.

“Over the next few years, we’ll collaborate around all upcoming pipeline products, including retatrutide next year and all other innovations in that pipeline,” Dudum said.