Novo Nordisk sues Hims & Hers; TrumpRx is here; physicians are not ‘providers,’ says ACP – Morning Medical Update Weekly Recap

Why Novo Nordisk is suing Hims & Hers

Novo Nordisk is suing telehealth company Hims & Hers, arguing that it is illegally selling compounded versions of Wegovy and Ozempic after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared semaglutide no longer in shortage.

Novo says Hims’ products infringe its patents, bypass FDA safety review and mislead patients by claiming to contain the same active ingredient as branded drugs, even though Novo does not sell semaglutide for compounding. The lawsuit marks Novo’s first U.S. patent case targeting a large telehealth company over GLP-1 compounding, escalating a broader effort to rein in what it calls a “wild west” market that expanded during the drug shortage but, Novo argues, should have ended once supply stabilized. Reuters has more. Find Novo Nordisk’s official statement here.

TrumpRx is live — it’s not exactly a government pharmacy

President Trump announced the long-awaited launch of the TrumpRx website on Thursday, Feb. 5, positioning it as a major step toward lowering U.S. drug prices through most-favored-nation pricing. But the platform doesn’t function as a federal direct-to-consumer pharmacy. Instead, TrumpRx provides manufacturer-backed coupons that eligible Americans can redeem at retail pharmacies or through drugmakers’ own online fulfillment programs. Many offers exclude patients enrolled in government-funded coverage, cannot be combined with insurance and do not count toward deductibles. At launch, 43 medications were listed, despite 16 major pharmaceutical companies reportedly reaching pricing agreements with the administration. Whether the site will meaningfully reduce overall drug spending remains to be seen. Pharmaceutical Executive has the full story.

Physicians are not ‘providers,’ says ACP

The American College of Physicians (ACP) says it’s time to drop the word “provider.” In a new position paper, ACP argues the term reduces physicians to interchangeable vendors and erodes the ethical, fiduciary nature of the physician-patient relationship. The group recommends reserving “physician” for doctors and using “clinician” or “health care professional” for care teams — but avoiding “provider” altogether, saying language shapes how patients understand who is responsible for their care. Read the full story.