Amazon aims to turn GLP-1 demand into a funnel for One Medical, though limiting new prescriptions to members softens the competitive threat to other telehealth players.

Women use more healthcare, spend more on prescriptions, and are spurring telehealth companies to deliver tailored virtual services.

GoodRx is launching a weight loss telehealth membership plan and discounting the cash-pay price for low doses of Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy to $199 per month. GoodRx is newer to telehealth, but already making waves and forging closer relationships with drugmakers.

Hims & Hers is expanding into a new men's health category by offering treatments for low testosterone. But it will need to navigate strict FDA oversight. The FDA has previously warned companies against exaggerated claims, stating that these treatments are only approved for men with low testosterone caused by specific medical conditions—not for general symptoms like fatigue from normal aging. Marketers must educate consumers on the FDA-approved status of their products, make it clear that a blood test will determine eligibility for a subscription, and avoid generalized messaging about the treatments' benefits for low energy or tiredness.

WeightWatchers launched a new menopause program with Queen Latifah as its spokesperson. This move is part of a larger strategy to expand into the clinical healthcare and prescription medication markets. To succeed against rivals like Hims & Hers and Noom, WeightWatchers needs to offer competitive pricing and secure more partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies to help raise awareness of its new focus in the growing wellness sector.

The news: Dr. Kim Boyd, previously the chief medical officer of telehealth weight loss startup Calibrate, joins WeightWatchers as CMO as the company plans to launch perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause treatments and services for women ages 40-60 later this year. Our take: WeightWatchers will compete with several D2C telehealth for the underserved pre- and post-menopausal consumer market. However, we think its brand recognition among women ages 40-60, its long-standing weight loss support expertise and new Novo deal could catapult it ahead.

The news: Novo Nordisk is partnering with WeightWatchers to offer discounted Wegovy to cash-pay customers. Our take: WeightWatchers is recognizing that diet culture is being replaced by weight loss medications accessible via virtual care. To stand out from other Novo’s other telehealth partners, WeightWatchers should lean into marketing that positions the company as a pioneer weight loss brand that’s now meeting consumer demand for GLP-1s.

Tens of millions of Americans will use weight loss drugs in the coming years. Here’s what pharma, food and beverage, wellness, and fitness brands and marketers need to know about GLP-1 patients’ changing behaviors alongside their medication use.

WeightWatchers is the latest company to offer compounded GLP-1s: Consumer demand for cheaper versions of GLP-1s is forcing even weight-loss industry legacy players to sell the meds.

WeightWatchers enters the Rx business for obesity: Its acquisition of medication-based weight loss program Sequence signals an emerging digital health market trend—but consumers must be cautious of telehealth startups' claims.