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Americans are flocking to drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound, drawn by the prospect of rapid weight loss. But a monthly cost that can exceed $1,000 and scant insurance coverage mean users drop off the treatments almost as quickly as they get on.
A group of companies sees this as an opportunity. Targeting current and former users of the medications, they’re offering telehealth checkups, lifestyle coaching, access to community support groups, exercise advice, and other features—all with the aim of keeping the pounds off once the treatment has ended. Monthly fees can be as high as $300.
The services are part of a broader ecosystem that’s springing up around the blockbuster drugs, known as GLP-1s, from Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S that are reshaping weight-loss treatment. Online health companies such as Calibrate Health Inc. and Omada Health Inc. in particular are aiming to fill the support role that may not be met by primary-care providers or specialists.
It’s a “huge addressable potential market,” says Ryan Daniels, an equity research analyst at William Blair & Co. And support programs could be worth as much as $2.5 billion annually, according to his firm’s research. William Blair identified more than 20 digital health companies that are supporting people who are taking one of the treatments.
Curbing Hunger Cues
Obesity affects 42% of Americans and costs the US almost $173 billion annually, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Medications such as Wegovy mimic a gut hormone called GLP-1 that the body produces after eating, slowing the movement of food but also interfering with the reward system that makes food pleasurable.
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An Ozempic injection pen. Photographer: Jaap Arriens/Getty Images
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