I know by now everyone must think that I secretly work for one of the pharmaceutical companies that sells GLP-1-RAs but honestly, I am just a fascinated spectator. Obesity and its related diseases are a major contributor to the chronic wound epidemic and after more than 30 years taking care of chronic wound patients – I do not think that the answer is in fancier treatments for the wound. The wound(s) are a symptom. That’s why patients have multiple wounds of different types. OK, off the soapbox and back to the story.
WeightWatchers (WW.O) has announced that it will partner with Amazon to deliver medications including injectable GLP-1 obesity treatments – which has to be refrigerated – for its members. The announcement drove up WW shares by 9%. WW has partnered with Novo Nordisk to sell Wegovy to cash-pay customers through NovoCare and its partner CenterWell Pharmacy. WeightWatchers customers will be able to have the drug delivered using the Amazon Pharmacy option on its website. Amazon has apparently been shipping GLP-1s to patients since 2020.
No more counting the “points” of everything you eat and having to weigh in front of a group of equally demoralized people (yes, this is the voice of experience). Clinical trials showed that the drugs helped people lose around 15% of body weight thanks, at least in part, to slower gastric emptying resulting in a feeling of “being full.” Shipping times for subscribers to Amazon Prime are one to two days for all medications. Amazon said in June it would provide same-day and next-day delivery to 4,000 additional locales by year-end, targeting small towns and rural areas, and invest over $4 billion to triple its delivery operations by 2026. (I understand that an oral drug is in development so this really will be interesting to watch.)
Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound care physician dedicated to improving patient outcomes through quality driven care. Please visit my blog at CarolineFifeMD.com and my Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/carolinefifemd/videos
The opinions, comments, and content expressed or implied in my statements are solely my own and do not necessarily reflect the position or views of Intellicure or any of the boards on which I serve.
