WeightWatchers enters the prescription weight loss market

WeightWatchers is part of a rapidly growing prescription weight loss drug business.  Ozempic has gained popularity in part because celebrities use it to lose weight.

Nathaniel Meyerson, CNN

WeightWatchers is part of a rapidly growing prescription weight loss drug business.

The company, now known as WW International, will buy Sequence, a subscription telemedicine service that connects patients with doctors who can prescribe weight loss and diabetes medications, including the new popular diabetes drug Ozempic.

WeightWatchers offers meal plans and other weight loss tools to subscribers. Oprah Winfrey cooperates with the company and has a stake in it.

The $106 million acquisition of Sequence will give WeightWatchers a foothold in the growing market for prescription drugs to combat obesity and other weight issues. According to the CDC, about 94% of American adults are obese or overweight.

“There is growing scientific evidence that, for some, prescription medications for chronic weight control may affect the biological components of obesity,” WeightWatchers said in a presentation about its purchase of Sequence on Monday.

Shares of WW International rose 20% during pre-market trading on Tuesday on the news.

While WeightWatchers didn’t specifically mention Ozempic or any other drug, the company noted that Sequence’s $99-a-month subscription plan helps connect customers with doctors who can prescribe drugs that mimic an appetite-regulating hormone called GLP-1.

The GLP-1 agonist sequence helps prescribe Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus.

These relatively new drugs stimulate the release of insulin, which helps lower blood sugar levels. They also slow down the passage of food through the intestines.

The FDA approved Ozempic for diabetes in 2017 and Wegovy for weight loss in 2021.

Ozempic has gained popularity in part because celebrities use it to lose weight.

But there are many problems with using diabetes medications for weight loss, including high costs and shortages that make it harder for people with diabetes to get the medications.

The-CNN-Wire
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The WeightWatchers message is jumping into the weight loss prescription drug business first appeared on KION546.

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