Hims & Hers CEO says FTC lawsuit misunderstands how the company works

Hims & Hers CEO Andrew Dudum defended the telehealth company in a CNBC “Squawk Box” interview addressing a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit, GLP-1 medicines and healthcare affordability. In July, the FTC, Los Angeles County and Utah sued Hims & Hers, alleging that it shared user health information with advertisers including Meta and Snap, charged for prescriptions before customers spoke with healthcare providers, and made subscriptions difficult to cancel. Dudum said the allegations reflected a misunderstanding of how the company is rebuilding traditional healthcare through a digital ecosystem. He said Hims & Hers had worked with the FTC for years and suggested regulators ultimately wanted more of a headline than a substantive agreement. Dudum described the company as an active disruptor focused on expanding access to care, saying it acts when it believes changes benefit consumers. He also discussed Hims & Hers’ transition from compounded to branded GLP-1 drugs. During shortages of popular obesity and weight-loss treatments, the company legally sold copycat compounded versions at a discount. After supply recovered, Novo Nordisk sued Hims & Hers for patent infringement. In March, Novo dropped the lawsuit, and Hims & Hers agreed to sell Novo’s branded medicines on its platform. The agreement came as Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly reduced prices for patients paying out of pocket. Dudum said compounded GLP-1s demonstrated that the treatments could reach consumers at lower prices. He expects cash-paying patients’ costs eventually to fall to $40 to $50 per month, from roughly $150 to $200 currently, depending on the medication’s form. Artificial intelligence is another strategic priority. Dudum said Hims & Hers is increasing investment to become “AI native” and moving away from third-party agents in favor of internally built systems. He argued that foundational models without closed-loop healthcare data have limited value, while the company’s data is a key asset. Investor considerations include potential access growth, lower treatment costs and AI-enabled services, alongside regulatory, data-sharing, subscription, intellectual-property and execution risks.