Eli Lilly launches web site to assist sufferers get weight reduction medication

Drugmaker Eli Lilly introduced on Thursday a new website that can enable sufferers to get a weight reduction drug prescription by means of a telehealth supplier — a transfer, the corporate says, that can enhance entry to the extraordinarily widespread and efficient medication, together with its recently approved drug, Zepbound.

The brand new web site, referred to as LillyDirect, joins a rising record of platforms like Weight Watchers and Ro providing weight reduction medication by means of telehealth, however is the primary of its variety from a pharmaceutical firm.

It comes lower than two months after the Food and Drug Administration approved Lilly’s weight reduction drug Zepbound. The drug is the newest entrant into the sector of the highly effective — and pricy — class of medications called GLP-1 agonists, which incorporates Lilly’s Mounjaro in addition to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy.

“We’re used to buying consumer goods directly from manufacturers all the time on online websites,” mentioned Lilly CEO David Ricks. “It really hasn’t been an option that’s been provided before” for prescribed drugs.

Ricks mentioned the brand new platform will make it simpler for sufferers to entry the medication, chopping out the necessity to go to the physician to get a prescription after which to a pharmacy to fill it. Sufferers who’re prescribed Zepbound shall be eligible for Lilly’s at-home prescription supply service. 

There will not be value reductions for any of the medicines by means of the web site, nevertheless, which, at a listing value of greater than $1,000 for a month’s provide and often not covered by insurance, places them out of attain for many Individuals. Sufferers will nonetheless want to satisfy the factors for the burden loss medication, that are meant for long-term use, not fast weight reduction.  

Some consultants, nevertheless, expressed considerations in regards to the platform and raised questions on Lilly’s monetary motives.

“What fuels my skepticism is that the stakes are so high,” mentioned Arthur Caplan, the pinnacle of the division of medical ethics at NYU Langone Medical Middle in New York Metropolis. 

Different firms additionally supply weight reduction prescriptions by means of telemedicine, however not a drug firm with its personal weight reduction drug, Caplan mentioned.

“There’s so much money that’s going to move with these injectables,” he mentioned. “That creates at least the appearance of conflict of interest.”

Lilly itself is not offering the telehealth companies. As a substitute, LillyDirect will join sufferers with the telehealth supplier Kind Well being, whose weight problems drugs docs will work with sufferers to find out whether a prescription is appropriate.

Neither Kind Well being nor its physicians will obtain monetary compensation for prescribing Lilly’s drug, Ricks mentioned. 

Evan Richardson, the CEO of Kind Well being, mentioned that sufferers who’re prescribed a weight reduction drug will meet over video with a health care provider on an ongoing foundation, sometimes as soon as a month.

The docs will work independently and can have the ability to prescribe any FDA-approved weight reduction drug — they will not be required to prescribe Lilly’s Zepbound.

However solely these prescribed Zepbound shall be eligible for Lilly’s at-home prescription supply service, Ricks mentioned. 

With dozens of telehealth companies already providing prescriptions, LillyDirect faces a lot of competition. It isn’t clear what share of sufferers get their weight reduction medication or any remedy by means of telehealth, however the platforms might be important for individuals who reside too far-off from a health care provider. 

“These are populations that are underserved minorities who are living in rural areas based away from urban areas,” mentioned Dr. Saurabh Chandra, the chief telehealth officer on the Middle for Telehealth on the College of Mississippi Medical Middle, who has no ties to both Lilly or Kind Well being. “Approximately 18% to 20% of the population are living in rural areas.”

On prime of that, there’s a shortage of primary care physicians, he mentioned. “You combine the two, now you have a lack of access to health care for these populations.”

Nonetheless, not all consultants are satisfied {that a} telehealth supplier backed by a significant pharmaceutical firm is the most effective strategy. 

“It feels like blurring the lines,” mentioned Dr. Shauna Levy, a specialist in weight problems drugs and the medical director of the Tulane Bariatric Middle in New Orleans. Levy has no ties to Lilly or Kind Well being.

Lilly mentioned the net platform is barely supposed for individuals who currently meet the criteria for a weight loss drug within the U.S.: Individuals with a BMI of a minimum of 30 or a BMI of a minimum of 27 with a minimum of one weight-related medical situation.

Kind Well being’s physicians could have full discretion over who they prescribe the medications to, or if a weight reduction drug is the correct match for a affected person. The medication can come with side effects together with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. 

Richardson, the Kind Well being CEO, mentioned the telehealth firm has a number of layers of safety to make sure that physicians are solely serving sufferers who meet the factors for weight reduction medication. That features verifying the affected person’s medical data and guaranteeing their driver’s license aligns with their top and look. The corporate can even ship a scale to the affected person’s house.

Ensuring the correct sufferers are getting the medicines is “an important aspect of what we do,” Richardson mentioned. “It’s important not just for patient health, but it’s also important for the system.” Stopping folks from fraudulently getting weight reduction medication means there’s extra provide for the individuals who want it, he mentioned.

One other query is how a telehealth platform particularly for weight reduction medication shall be used along with main care. 

Chandra mentioned he worries a couple of potential for “fragmentation of care,” the place individuals are utilizing the platform to get their weight reduction medication, however nonetheless seeing their different in-person supplier for different medicines. 

That poses a threat, he mentioned, of potential drug-to-drug interactions, if suppliers are unaware of various medicines a affected person is taking. 

“Many of the patients do not know themselves what medications they are on,” Chandra mentioned. “Many times they don’t know what the side effects or what the adverse effects may be.”

Richardson mentioned the Kind Well being docs will evaluate every affected person’s medical data, together with any current medicines that the affected person is taking.

It stays to be seen whether or not Lilly’s provide of Zepbound will have the ability to sustain with what’s anticipated to be extraordinarily excessive demand. Semaglutide, the lively ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, has been in short supply since March 2022 amid the medication’ surging recognition.

Ricks mentioned provide for Zepbound is not a priority for Lilly, no matter whether or not folks get it from a neighborhood pharmacy or LillyDirect.

“That doesn’t change the amount of supply available, but it may make it easier for people to connect to a medicine they want and need,” the Lilly CEO mentioned.

Lilly additionally provides an identical telehealth prescription and supply service for a few of its migraine and diabetes medication.