WeightWatchers took a major step into the worlds of telehealth and medication-based obesity treatment on Monday, announcing its acquisition of the digital health company Sequence.
Sequence, which describes itself as a “weight loss program,” offers its monthly subscribers telehealth consultations with clinicians, fitness coaching, access to dietitians and, in some cases, prescriptions for drugs including the popular diabetes and obesity medications Ozempic and Wegovy.
With Sequence in the fold, WeightWatchers will be able to expand beyond traditional diet and behavior-based regimens for weight loss. In revealing the $132 million purchase, the company’s leaders said they plan to tailor its “nutrition and behavior-change” programs to work in concert with the dispensing of medication.
Gary Foster, WeightWatchers’ chief scientific officer, said in a statement that the company intends to “provide the support needed to help people build livable healthy habits for the long term and manage the dietary-induced side effects often felt while taking chronic weight management medications.”
Ozempic and Wegovy are the brand names for different doses of semaglutide, a medication that can lower blood sugar levels and suppress the appetite.
Ozempic is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes in adults, while Wegovy is approved for weight loss in two groups: Those 12 and older with obesity, and adults who are overweight and also have least one weight-related health condition, such as high blood pressure or cholesterol.
Both medications have soared in popularity over the last year. According to data from the prescription drug discount company SingleCare, prescriptions for Wegovy were 732% higher in January and February than during the same months last year, and Ozempic prescriptions were 273% higher.
WeightWatchers’ purchase of Sequence enables it to incorporate access to these blockbuster drugs as part of its offerings.
Dr. Fatima Stanford, an obesity medicine specialist at …
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