Wellness companies rebuild around weight-loss drugs after WeightWatchers bankruptcy

Health and wellness companies are rebuilding their offerings around GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, a shift that follows WeightWatchers' bankruptcy filing on Tuesday and the company's statement that its weight management system no longer appealed to customers ^[1].

WeightWatchers pointed to changing views about weight versus wellness, competition from telehealth companies that fully embrace the drugs, and fitness influencers on TikTok. It has an agreement with creditors to restructure its debt and exit the court process quickly ^[1].

"I don't think that they were listening to their members," said Adam McBride, chief executive of the telehealth company Eden, describing WeightWatchers' points-based system and in-person gatherings as old school ^[1]. Eden and rival Noom both run weight-focused telehealth platforms with integrated lifestyle coaching ^[1].

The newer companies have been selling unbranded versions of the in-demand medicines. Clinical subscriptions that give patients access to clinicians and prescription drugs make up more than half of Noom's revenue, CEO Geoff Cook said ^[1]. At Hims & Hers, compounded weight-loss drugs accounted for 20% of revenue last year, and WeightWatchers itself relied partly on such revenue ^[1].

A WeightWatchers spokesperson said the company's program works, citing an internal study in which its clinic patients taking GLP-1 drugs lost 21% of their weight and then lost another 2% after 13 weeks in its behavioral program ^[1].

Cheaper copies are drying up

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is now blocking sales of cheaper compounded versions of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound, along with their related diabetes medicines Ozempic and Mounjaro, because those drugs are no longer in shortage ^[1]. Lawsuits over the issue remain ^[1].

"Selling cheaper versions of the drugs has been a huge profit driver for these companies, and the loss is an issue," said Karen Andersen, a healthcare analyst at Morningstar ^[1].

Andersen said one path forward is partnering with brand-name drugmakers. "Companies like Novo, they need partners that have access to patients," she said, adding that finding creative ways to partner with key competitors "will be a rocky path" ^[1].

Other companies are selling products around the drugs rather than the drugs themselves. The Vitamin Shoppe has seen a spike in demand for supplements aimed at loss of appetite, decreasing muscle tone and other GLP-1 side effects, president Muriel Gonzalez said. Sales of a set of supplements marketed to people taking such drugs rose more than 20% from a year earlier, a company spokesman said ^[1]. The retailer launched a telehealth service, Whole Health Rx, last year that connects consumers with medical providers who can prescribe weight-loss drugs and recommend supplements for protein, fiber and multivitamins ^[1]. GNC added a section in its stores dedicated to GLP-1 users, selling protein powder and fiber ^[1].

The drugs and pharmacy copies can cut a person's weight by 15% to 20%, and some analysts forecast annual sales of $150 billion within the next decade ^[1]. Demand has already eaten into the food business at Walmart ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

For people taking these medicines, the shift changes who is selling them and how they are packaged. Telehealth platforms are pairing prescriptions with coaching, meal tracking and supplement recommendations, a model WeightWatchers struggled with ^[1].

The bigger practical change is supply. Compounded versions became a lower-cost route for many patients, and that route is closing now that Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic and Mounjaro are no longer listed as in shortage ^[1]. The report does not say how patients currently using compounded copies will be transitioned, or what those alternatives will cost.

If telehealth companies do partner with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, access could depend on those arrangements rather than on compounding pharmacies ^[1]. Details of any such partnerships have not been disclosed, and no timeline has been reported.

What happens next

WeightWatchers has said it will move quickly through bankruptcy under an agreement with creditors, but no specific exit date has been reported ^[1]. The FDA's block on compounded sales continues, with litigation unresolved ^[1]. Whether wellness companies can strike deals with the brand-name manufacturers — and what those deals would mean for patients — has not yet been established ^[1].