(Reuters) – Health and wellness products retailer Vitamin Shoppe said on Wednesday that subscribers to its telehealth service would have access to weight-loss medications such as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Rybelsus.
Monthly medication subscription to the retailer’s virtual healthcare platform, Whole Health Rx, starts at an introductory price of $219, and does not require insurance, the company said in a statement.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The subscription covers the cost of drugs, whose immense popularity and high prices are likely to keep them out of reach for many patients in the coming year.
Developed initially to treat diabetes, GLP-1 drugs have been shown to help patients lose 15% to 20% of their body weight in clinical trials by suppressing food cravings.
CONTEXT
Vitamin Shoppe said it was launching Whole Health Rx with weight management in focus, but would expand the program to cater to other needs such as testosterone support, hormone replacement therapy, hair loss and smoking cessation, among others.
Last month, retailer Costco Wholesale offered its roughly 130 million members access to weight-loss programs through its partnership with online healthcare services provider Sesame, although its subscription did not cover the cost of weight-loss drugs.
BY THE NUMBERS
UBS analysts are expecting the global market for GLP-1 class of drugs to grow to $126 billion by 2029 and identified the expansion of the obesity market to be a “key driver.”
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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