WeightWatchers introduced plans to purchase telehealth platform Weekend Well being, often known as Sequence, in a transfer towards providing prescription weight reduction medicine.
The corporate stated the money and fairness transaction is valued at $132 million, however the efficient internet buy worth is $106 million. The deal is ready to shut within the second quarter this yr.
Together with telehealth consultations, insurance coverage coordination, and diet and health plans, Sequence provides glucagon-like peptide-1 medicines, together with semaglutide, which use the model names Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus. The corporate launched in 2021 and had about 24,000 members in February.
“WeightWatchers’ diet and behavior-change program can present the assist wanted to assist folks construct livable wholesome habits for the long run and handle the dietary-induced unwanted effects typically felt whereas taking continual weight administration medicines, comparable to glucagon-like peptide-1s (GLP-1s),” Dr. Gary Foster, chief scientific officer of WeightWatchers, stated in an announcement.
“As we construct out our scientific weight administration pathway, we shall be studying and certain tailoring our diet program for this distinct member journey. We all know weight administration isn’t one-size-fits-all and scientific interventions are usually not medically or in any other case applicable for everybody, which is why we stay dedicated to all pathways.”
THE LARGER TREND
Curiosity and demand for semaglutide has risen prior to now a number of months, with many pharmacists reporting shortages of Ozempic and Wegovy.
Although Ozempic is simply accepted to deal with diabetes, there are growing stories of off-label use for shedding pounds. Wegovy was first accepted as a weight loss drug in 2021. Earlier this yr, the American Academy of Pediatrics released new guidelines on youngsters and weight problems, arguing for early intervention, which contains surgical procedure and drugs. Wegovy was just lately accepted for kids ages 12 and older.
Although the drug is effective, it is also expensive. It additionally must be taken repeatedly or the effects will wear off.
One other digital weight reduction firm, Noom, has additionally begun providing the load loss medicine. Based on reporting by Insider, it rolled out Noom Scientific to supply some customers entry to GLP-1 medicines.
Direct-to-consumer digital care firm Ro and one other on-line weight reduction firm, Calibrate, additionally provide semaglutides.
