Primary care firm knownwell joins LillyDirect to offer weight-management services

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(Reuters) -Primary care company knownwell said on Wednesday it will provide health and weight-management services on Eli Lilly’s direct-to-consumer online healthcare platform, LillyDirect.

Patients on LillyDirect will have access to physicians from knownwell for personalized services, knownwell said.

The company offers in-person and virtual primary care, nutrition counseling and behavioral health services, covered through patients’ insurance.

CONTEXT

Eli Lilly last month expanded its LillyDirect platform to include telehealth providers to diagnose and care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Telehealth firms have been partnering with LillyDirect to offer Lilly’s weight-loss drug, Zepbound.

These companies have been on the lookout for an avenue to sell highly popular weight-loss drugs, as the compounded drugs industry faces increasing restrictions on making copies of the treatments.

While Zepbound and rival Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy were in shortage, several telehealth firms sold the drugs’ cheaper copies.

The branded drugs have since been removed from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s shortage list.

KEY QUOTE

“LillyDirect continues to expand our listing of independent care provider options to benefit patients,” Lilly said in an emailed statement.

The drugmaker added that “LillyDirect continues to evaluate additional independent care providers for inclusion in an effort to improve patient choice and access to quality care.”

(Reporting by Sneha S K; Editing by Shreya Biswas)