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Novo Nordisk will work with some of the telehealth companies that sold knock-off versions of obesity drugs like its popular medicine Wegovy, announcing Tuesday deals with Hims & Hers, LifeMD and Ro to sell branded Wegovy distributed through the Danish drugmaker’s direct-to-consumer pharmacy.

The announcement comes days after a federal court in Texas rejected a legal challenge by compounding pharmacies to the Food and Drug Administration’s recent determination that Wegovy was no longer in shortage. As long as semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and the diabetes drug Ozempic, remained in short supply, compounding pharmacies could manufacture and distribute copycat versions.

The telehealth companies will be able to sell Wegovy distributed through the NovoCare Pharmacy — which the drugmaker started in March — to people who are prescribed the obesity shot but don’t use insurance to cover the cost. Two of the telehealth companies, LifeMD and Ro , will sell Wegovy at the same $499 price as NovoCare, while Hims will offer it at $599 per month.

“We believe patients living with this chronic disease who want and need treatment under the care of a licensed healthcare professional, including those embracing the growing telehealth community, deserve to get the real thing," said Dave Moore, Novo’s head of U.S. operations, in a statement.

The deals come as Novo is facing a growing threat to its $8.4 billion obesity blockbuster from Eli Lilly, which was first to establish its own direct-to-consumer channel for obesity drugs. Lilly’s rival drug, Zepbound, proved in testing that it could help people with obesity lose more weight than Wegovy, which some analysts think should give it an edge in marketing.

Novo’s deal with the telehealth companies could expand Wegovy’s reach among people paying out of pocket, following Lilly’s similar deals with LifeMD and Ro . Wegovy still retains some advantages, however, including being the only obesity drug shown to prevent cardiovascular complications and death , which has opened the door to limited Medicare coverage.

Moreover, the race is on to launch an oral obesity drug. Novo recently said it has asked the FDA to approve an oral version of semaglutide that completed pivotal trials in obesity. Lilly is close behind , with a pill that may be easier to manufacture. That could give Lilly an edge as both companies have struggled to expand manufacturing to keep up with patient demand, a factor that had led to the shortages.

Novo’s shares rose 4% in morning trading, while Hims shares were up more than 20% and LifeMD by nearly 30%.

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