GLP-1 TV · Patient story · views checked Oct 2026
🚨 Hims launches GLP-1 pill, Novo Nordisk threatens to sue!!! (emergency pod with Cremieux)
Our summary
In this episode of Hims House, host Jonathan Stern talks with Cremieux, a bioinformatician who posts about GLP-1s, about Hims launching a compounded oral semaglutide pill and Novo Nordisk's threat to sue. Cremieux says he was happy at first about more access, cheaper drugs and competition. He then explains that the pill reportedly leaves out SNAC, the absorption enhancer in Novo's oral product, and instead uses a liposomal delivery method. He says human evidence that this method works for semaglutide is essentially nonexistent. He calls himself agnostic but leans toward it not working.
One person's experience, in their words. Not medical advice.
Where semaglutide pill costs least today
The three cheapest partner programs for semaglutide pill, all in per month, checked weekly.
What else the video covers
On the legal side, Cremieux says changing the delivery enhancer is legal for compounders and that Novo has no real grounds to sue unless semaglutide is added to the FDA's demonstrably difficult to compound list. He argues that if the liposomal method fails, Hims could end up making the case that oral semaglutide is difficult to compound, which he calls a possible own goal. He says this would affect only the oral version, not injectables. He does not expect the compounding loophole to be closed and sees no defamation case against Novo. On economics, he says oral drugs absorb only about 0.3 to 1% of the dose, but he thinks margins can still work given low-cost production.
The conversation then widens. Cremieux discusses next-generation GLP-1s, including Viking's possible once-monthly injection and retatrutide, which he describes as about 50% more effective than tirzepatide. He also covers peptide deregulation and its cancer risks, false positives from multi-cancer blood tests, and AI in clinical care. He closes by calling the Hims move a big gambit that could pay off a great deal or draw heavier regulation.
Our summary of what is said, in our words. Doses, results and prices are the speaker’s, not advice.
Takeaways
The main points, in the order they come up. Tap a time to play from there.
- 2:34 Cremieux says the Hims pill does not include SNAC, the delivery mechanism behind Novo's oral semaglutide, so bioavailability is unproven.
- 4:05 He says liposomal delivery of semaglutide has essentially no human evidence behind it, and he leans toward it not working.
- 5:37 He says compounders can legally change the delivery enhancer and that Novo lacks legal grounds unless semaglutide joins the difficult-to-compound list.
- 13:46 He says oral GLP-1s absorb only about 0.3 to 1% of the dose, but he expects margins to remain workable.
- 18:54 He describes retatrutide as roughly 50% more effective than tirzepatide and expects it to set the new bar.
- 27:02 He calls the oral pill a big gambit for Hims that could lead to large sales or to tougher regulation, including of injectables.
Key moments
From the creator's own chapters. Tap one to play from there.
What the video says
As stated in the video, not checked by us. Doses and results are the speaker’s, not advice.
- Medication
- Compounded semaglutide
- Who is speaking
- Patient
Questions this video answers
Does the Hims oral semaglutide pill use SNAC?
According to Cremieux, the compounded Hims pill does not include SNAC, the absorption enhancer used in Novo Nordisk's oral semaglutide. He says it reportedly uses a liposomal delivery method instead, and that there is no proven bioavailability for it.
Can Novo Nordisk sue Hims over a compounded semaglutide pill?
Cremieux expects Novo to sue but thinks it would lose, because he says compounders can legally change the delivery enhancer. He says Novo would have grounds only if semaglutide were added to the FDA's demonstrably difficult to compound list, which Novo has asked for in the past.
Why are oral GLP-1 pills harder to make than injections?
Cremieux says injectable semaglutide is simple to mix and inject, while an oral version must survive stomach acid and enzymes. He says SNAC took a large research effort to develop and absorbs only about 0.3 to 1% of the dose.
Videos on the same question
The closest videos in the library by what is said in them, not by title.
HIMS: Compound Semaglutide OUT, Branded InThe host of On The Pen opens this March 9 live stream with news that Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers have reached a deal.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Novo Nordisk vs. Hims & Hers: We have a drug approval process for a reasonCNBC's hosts talk with Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a CNBC contributor and former FDA commissioner, about the dispute between Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers over an oral GLP-1 pill.
Novo Nordisk CEO on Hims Suit, Wegovy Demand and PricingIn this Bloomberg Television interview, the Novo Nordisk chief executive responds to questions about Hims & Hers, the company's 2026 outlook, its oral Wegovy pill and its search for acquisitions.
Wegovy Pill vs. Injection — A Doctor Breaks Down the Newest Form of GLP-1In this Fat Science Podcast episode, host Mark Wright and co-host Andrea Taylor talk with Dr. Emily Cooper about the new Wegovy pill, an oral form of semaglutide from Novo Nordisk.
Read next
Our guides closest to what this video covers, with prices checked weekly.
- Every GLP-1 pill you can actually get, and what each one costs
Four swallowable GLP-1s exist now, and three of them launched in 2026. Rybelsus, the Wegovy pill and the Ozempic pill are all semaglutide in a tablet but are approved for different things; Foundayo is a different molecule entirely and the only one with no food or timing rules. Two are for weight, two are for type 2 diabetes, and the cheapest thing on most rankings is not any of them. Here is the whole landscape, with what each actually costs.
- Semaglutide side effects, and what compounding does and does not change
Semaglutide's side effects are gastrointestinal: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation, worst early and after each dose increase. Those belong to the molecule, so they are the same whether it came in a Novo Nordisk pen or a compounding pharmacy's vial. What compounding changes is everything around the molecule. A compounded drug is not FDA-approved, so the finished product has not been reviewed for safety, effectiveness or manufacturing quality, and the FDA has said the enforcement discretion that allowed 503A pharmacies to compound semaglutide has ended. It also usually arrives as a vial and a syringe rather than a pre-set pen, which moves dose measurement to you.
- Semaglutide online: the six versions you can be prescribed, what the rules now allow, and what each costs
You can get semaglutide online with a prescription from a telehealth clinician, and it comes in six versions: Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Ozempic, each as a weekly pen or a daily pill, plus compounded injections and compounded oral forms made by pharmacies. Compounded semaglutide starts at $69 a month on our board. Novo sells its own brands for cash from $149 a month for a pill and $199 for a starter pen. Compounded versions are not FDA approved.
Find more like it
Side effectsDose changeWeigh-in and resultsFood, protein and eatingInjection techniqueCost and insuranceHow it works
Up next
More from this collection
Watched it? See what it costs.
Every GLP-1 program we track, ranked by what actually leaves your account.