Digital health company Noom to offer GLP-1 combination drug with new weight loss program

Digital health company Noom on Thursday announced it will offer a combination GLP-1 drug as part of a new weight loss product line starting at $149.

The treatment will consist of combined semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. Noom has been offering weight loss programs for years, and customers can now try the popular medicine through its platform.

But Noom is the latest in a string of digital health companies to offer compounded medicine as a cost-effective alternative for consumers in the need for weight loss and drugs. of diabetes. Home and Home and Sesame have launched similar programs in recent months – and the market for affordable options has grown competitive.

“Our position is that more supply, especially at a lower cost, is needed now, not less,” Noom CEO Geoff Cook told CNBC in an interview.

Wegovy and Ozempic belong to a class of well-known drugs called GLP-1s, which mimic certain gut hormones to reduce the patient’s appetite and control blood sugar. Compounded versions are artificial alternatives to generic drugs, and may be introduced when the brand name treatment is lacking.

Combined GLP-1 drugs are usually much cheaper than their generic counterparts. Wegovy and Ozempic both cost about $1,000 a month before insurance. Most insurance plans cover GLP-1 when used to treat diabetes, but its use as a weight-loss drug is less common. The spiking demand can also make it difficult for many patients to access popular treatments.

Cook said customers will pay $149 for their first month on the Noom program and $279 for subsequent months as their medication dose increases.

The US Food and Drug Administration does not evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the compounded products, and the agency has encouraged consumers to take an approved medication, called GLP-1 when available. However, the FDA is reviewing some foreign drug compounding facilities, according to its website.

Noom says it is working with an FDA-regulated 503B compound to supply its drug for its new program, called Noom GLP-1 RX.

“The drug manufacturer we work with produces 20 common medications, epinephrine being one of them – life-saving medications that are available in hospitals across the United States,” Dr. Adonis Saremi, Noom’s chief medical officer, told CNBC in an interview. . “So we’re really confident and excited about our test performance.”

The company said so it also introduced a method for participants to reduce the combined treatment if they wished to stop taking it. GLP-1s are designed for long-term use, which means some patients may end up taking them indefinitely.

Cook says Noom has seen anecdotal and real-world evidence that patients are able to maintain weight after stopping the drug. He said that six out of seven patients do not have GLP-1 at the two-year mark.

“It’s prescribed, you take your medicine, you lose weight, but then life happens,” Cook said. “Eventually they stop taking the medication, or their insurance stops covering it, they’ll change jobs [so] it is no longer covered.

Cook said not everyone will be able to get off the drug, so some people will end up taking it forever. The company will offer a free year of Noom or “significant prescription discounts” to anyone who gains weight within 18 months of following its program for a year, the release said.

Customers can get started with the Noom GLP-1 RX program by filling out the intake form on the website. Noom said one of its contracted, obesity-trained doctors will review the dosage form and decide whether the compounded drug is right for that patient. If so, the drugs will arrive at their doorstep within a week, Noom said.

Participants will learn how to inject their medication, and can use the chat feature to communicate one-on-one with their Noom trainer and doctor, the company said. They will also have access to more psychology-based programs and tools to help them lose muscle mass, such as protein tracking features and resistance training, Noom said. said.

And if users decide they’re ready to quit the medication, they can chat with their doctor or tap “initiate taper” in their settings, Noom said.

“I think there are a lot of people who don’t want to take medication for the rest of their lives, and yet, people don’t do that in the real world,” Cook said. “Our goal is just not to sell more drugs. It’s to drive sustainable weight loss results.”