In This Story
WeightWatchers (WW-7.73%) announced Tuesday that it is now offering off-brand weight loss drugs for one of the cheapest prices in the industry.
WeightWatchers, the once-popular points-based weight loss program, said it will be offering its members compounded semaglutide — an off-brand version of the active ingredient in Ozempic (NVO+2.68%) and Wegovy — for $129 for the first month and then $189 a month for the subsequent months. That’s hundreds of dollars cheaper than Wegovy’s $1,349 monthly price tag.
“At WeightWatchers, we have always combined proven science and personalized support to help our members achieve meaningful, lasting results. With the addition of compounded semaglutide, we are expanding our offering to include a clinical weight management solution that is both accessible and affordable,” said Tara Comonte, interim CEO of WeightWatchers, in a press release.
WeightWatchers stock surged 25% following the news.
This offering comes just a week after Comonte replaced outgoing CEO Sima Sistani in late September. Sistani departed the company as it struggled to adapt to the growing popularity of weight loss drugs.
Sistani joined WeightWatchers in 2022 and led the company for about two-and-a-half years. Under her leadership, WeightWatchers acquired the the telehealth platform Sequence and started offering WeightWatchers members branded weight loss drugs such as Wegovy.
But the bet hasn’t seemed to pay off yet. WeightWatchers’ stock is down more than 88% since the beginning of the year.
The class of weight loss drugs known as GLP-1 treatments have been putting pressure on WeightWatchers. These drugs, which mimic a hormone that regulates appetite and blood sugar, have shown remarkable effectiveness in treating obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
Market leaders Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly (LLY+1.90%), the pharmaceutical giants behind popular GLP-1 drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, respectively, have seen their stock prices soar as a result. Novo Nordisk stock has climbed 27% over the past 12 months, while Eli Lilly shares have surged 61%.
WeightWatchers joins other digital health care companies including Hims & Hers, Noom, and Sesame in offering cheaper alternatives to branded weight loss drugs.
Typically, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits compounding drugs that are just copies of commercially available medications — compounding refers to the customization of an approved drug by a pharmacy or physician to meet the specific needs of an individual patient.
But drugs that are in shortage are not considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be commercially available. The limited supply of highly coveted and expensive brand-name drugs such as Wegovy has spurred several digital health care companies to take advantage of that provision.
However, there are risks. The FDA said in July that it had received reports of overdoses related to weight loss drugs, often due to confusion over proper dosing.
And companies hawking compounded weight loss drugs may have to stop when the shortages end. Last week, the FDA updated its drug shortage database, marking the shortage of Eli Lilly’s Zepbound as resolved. Wegovy remains on the list.