WeightWatchers’ CEO stated on Wednesday it plans to promote Novo Nordisk’s much-anticipated Wegovy in tablet type whether it is launched subsequent yr within the United States, deepening its tie-up with the Danish weight problems drugmaker.
The collaboration is a possible increase for WeightWatchers because it emerges from chapter and highlights its dedication to promote branded weight problems medication, in contrast to rivals that push cheaper copies in a extremely aggressive market.
“We have been working with Novo Nordisk ahead of time to support the launch of oral weight-loss medication,” WeightWatchers CEO Tara Comonte stated in an interview.
“A lot of people don’t want an injection. And the convenience of a pill is going to be huge,” she stated.
Weight loss tablets from Novo and rival Eli Lilly are into account for a brand new, speedy US assessment pathway that may shave months from the traditional approval course of.
WeightWatchers may hold extra prospects on its platform than telehealth rivals, as docs anticipate US sufferers to swap to the branded medicines as soon as costs come down underneath a deal introduced final week by the White House.
Lilly and Novo agreed to slash costs of their fashionable GLP-1 injectable medication for US authorities well being applications and cash-paying prospects.
Starter doses of the weight-loss tablets, if accredited, will value $149 a month for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees and for money payers by way of the US administration’s new TrumpRx website.
“Anything that brings pricing down for these medications is good for WeightWatchers,” Comonte stated.
WeightWatchers can also be making an attempt to achieve a stronger foothold in girls’s well being, together with by way of tailor-made applications that supply GLP-1 medicines and hormone alternative remedy.
Outside of the US, Germany and the UK are main markets for WeightWatchers, which had 4 million subscribers worldwide on the finish of 2023.
By Bhanvi Satija
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