Digital health company Noom on Thursday announced it will offer a compounded GLP-1 drug as part of a new weight loss product that starts at $149.
The treatment will feature compounded semaglutide, the same active ingredient in Novo Nordisk‘s blockbuster obesity and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. Noom has offered weight loss programs for years, and consumers can already try to access those branded 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 alternative for consumers while demand for weight loss and diabetes drugs spikes. Hims & Hers and Sesame have launched similar programs in recent months — and the market for low-cost options has grown more competitive.
“Our position is that more supply, especially at a reasonable price, is needed right now, not less,” Noom CEO Geoff Cook told CNBC in an interview.
Wegovy and Ozempic belong to a highly popular class of medications called GLP-1s, which mimic certain gut hormones to tamp down a patient’s appetite and regulate their blood sugar. The compounded versions are custom-made alternatives to the brand drugs, and they can be produced when brand-name treatments are in shortage.
Compounded GLP-1 medications are typically much cheaper than their branded counterparts. Wegovy and Ozempic both cost roughly $1,000 per month before insurance. Most insurance plans cover GLP-1s when they are used to treat diabetes, but coverage of the weight loss drugs is less widespread. Spiking demand can also make it difficult for many patients to find the branded treatments.
Cook said consumers will pay $149 for their first month in Noom’s program and $279 for the following months as the dose of their medication increases.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not review the safety and efficacy of compounded products, and the agency has urged consumers to take the approved, branded GLP-1 medications when they are available. However, the FDA does inspect some outsourcing facilities that compound drugs, according to its website.
Noom said it is working with an FDA-regulated 503B compounding pharmacy 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 available in hospitals all across the United States,” Dr. Adonis Saremi, chief medical officer of Noom, told CNBC in an interview. “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 compounded treatment if they would like to stop taking it. GLP-1s are intended for long-term use, which means some patients may end up taking them indefinitely.
Cook said Noom has seen both anecdotal and real-world evidence that patients are able to maintain weight loss after they stop taking the drugs. Six out of seven patients are off GLP-1s by the two-year mark anyway, he said.
“It’s prescribed by the doctor, the person takes their medicine, they lose weight, but then life happens,” Cook said. “They eventually stop taking the medication, or their insurance stops covering it, they’ll change 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 taking it indefinitely. The company will provide a free year of Noom or “substantial medication discounts” to anyone who regains the weight 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 filling out an intake form on the website. Noom said one of its contracted, obesity-trained doctors will review the intake form and decide if the compounded medication is appropriate for that patient. If so, the drugs will arrive at their door within a week, Noom said.
Participants will learn how to inject their medication, and they can use a chat feature to talk one-on-one with a coach and their Noom clinician, the company said. They’ll also have access to a range of psychology-based programming and tools to help keep them from losing muscle mass, such as features for tracking protein intake and engaging 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 “initiate 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 lives, and in any event, people aren’t doing that in the real world,” Cook said. “Our goal is just not to sell more medications. It’s to drive sustained weight loss outcomes.”