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STAT+: In the war for GLP-1 patients, Novo Nordisk leans on telehealth
Novo Nordisk's limited-time coupon on Wegovy was simultaneously promoted by telehealth companies Ro and Wegovy
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have waged war on telehealth companies marketing compounded versions of their blockbuster diabetes and obesity medications. With shortages of the branded drugs declared over, and the window for compounding copies closed, though, some virtual care companies are emerging as unlikely allies.
In the push to get compounded GLP-1 users on branded versions of the drugs, big pharma companies are starting to embrace certain telehealth providers as marketing partners. At the end of April, Novo Nordisk announced it would collaborate with three telehealth companies to offer Wegovy through its own mail-order pharmacy at a lower cash-pay price. And on Thursday, it doubled down with a limited-time coupon — simultaneously promoted by two of the telehealth companies, Ro and LifeMD — to capture more of those patients.
“It’s basically like co-branding between telehealth providers and manufacturers, which is really different,” said Tim Mackey, a professor of global health at the University of California, San Diego. “I don’t think it’s been done, hardly at all.”
