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Digital health company Noom to offer compounded GLP-1 drug through new weight loss program

Digital form company Noom on Thursday announced it will offer a compounded GLP-1 drug as part of a new weight loss consequence that starts at $149. 

The treatment will feature compounded semaglutide, the same active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster corpulence and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. Noom has offered weight loss programs for years, and consumers can already try to access those labeled medications through its platform. 

But Noom is the latest in a string of digital health companies to offer compounded versions of the medications as a cheaper possibility for consumers while demand for weight loss and diabetes drugs spikes. Hims & Hers and Sesame have fired similar programs in recent months — and the market for low-cost options has grown more competitive.  

“Our position is that uncountable supply, especially at a reasonable price, is needed right now, not less,” Noom CEO Geoff Cook told CNBC in an discussion. 

Wegovy and Ozempic belong to a highly popular class of medications called GLP-1s, which mimic certain gut hormones to tamp down a forgiving’s appetite and regulate their blood sugar. The compounded versions are custom-made alternatives to the brand drugs, and they can be stage when brand-name treatments are in shortage.

Compounded GLP-1 medications are typically much cheaper than their name branded counterparts. Wegovy and Ozempic both cost roughly $1,000 per month before insurance. Most insurance formulae cover GLP-1s when they are used to treat diabetes, but coverage of the weight loss drugs is less widespread. Impaling demand can also make it difficult for many patients to find the branded treatments.

Cook said consumers pass on pay $149 for their first month in Noom’s program and $279 for the following months as the dose of their medication growths. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not review the safety and efficacy of compounded products, and the agency has urged consumers to entertain the approved, branded GLP-1 medications when they are available. However, the FDA does inspect some outsourcing the ladies that compound drugs, according to its website.

Noom said it is working with an FDA-regulated 503B compounding apothecary to provide its medication for its new program, which is called Noom GLP-1 RX. 

“The drug manufacturer we’re working with generates 20 generic medications, epinephrine being one of them — a lifesaving medication that’s handy in hospitals all across the United States,” Dr. Adonis Saremi, chief medical officer of Noom, told CNBC in an examine. “So we’re really confident and happy with our vetting process.” 

The company said it has also introduced a way for participants to taper off the exacerbated treatment if they would like to stop taking it. GLP-1s are intended for long-term use, which means some patients may end up enchanting them indefinitely. 

Cook said Noom has seen both anecdotal and real-world evidence that patients are skilled to maintain weight loss after they stop taking the drugs. Six out of seven patients are off GLP-1s by the two-year smear anyway, he said. 

“It’s prescribed by the doctor, the person takes their medicine, they lose weight, but then pungency happens,” Cook said. “They eventually stop taking the medication, or their insurance stops covering it, they’ll coppers a job [so] it’s no longer covered.” 

Cook said not everyone will be able to taper off the medication, so some people will likely end up irresistible it indefinitely. The company will provide a free year of Noom or “substantial medication discounts” to anyone who regains the value within 18 months after following its program for a year, it said in a release. 

Consumers can get started with the Noom GLP-1 RX program by stuffing out an intake form on the website. Noom said one of its contracted, obesity-trained doctors will review the intake form and arbitrate if the compounded medication is appropriate for that patient. If so, the drugs will arrive at their door within a week, Noom utter. 

Participants will learn how to inject their medication, and they can use a chat feature to talk one-on-one with a instructor and their Noom clinician, the company said. They’ll also have access to a range of psychology-based programming and contraptions to help keep them from losing muscle mass, such as features for tracking protein intake and attractive in resistance training, Noom said.

And if users decide they are ready to move off the medication, they can chat with their clinician or tap “get under way taper” in their settings, Noom said.  

“I think there’s a lot of folks who don’t want to be on a medication for the rest of their burns, and in any event, people aren’t doing that in the real world,” Cook said. “Our goal is just not to sell uncountable medications. It’s to drive sustained weight loss outcomes.”

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