If you tuned in to Super Bowl LIX, perhaps you caught the commercial for compounded weight-loss drugs from telehealth company Hims & Hers. The third-quarter ad, called “Sick of the System,” is a dizzying montage of abdominal fat, food, and pharmaceutical greed set to the rhythm of Childish Gambino’s “This Is America.” Controversy has ensued—but not because Hims & Hers positioned itself as the antidote to Big Pharma.
Compounded medications such as those promoted in the Hims & Hers ad aren’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Such off-label concoctions aren’t simply generic versions of branded, approved medications; the FDA doesn’t verify their safety, quality, or effectiveness. Novo Nordisk, the Fortune 500 Europe company behind weight-loss injection Wegovy (semaglutide), responded Monday with a print ad of its own.
