Eli Lilly Launches Website to Connect U.S. Patients with Obesity Treatment
Eli Lilly has launched a new website, LillyDirect, to connect U.S. patients looking for obesity treatment with doctors, dieticians, and its new weight-loss drug, Zepbound. The site will pair visitors with mail-order pharmacies for prescriptions and provide access to a virtual medical weight-loss clinic. Additionally, it offers a directory for in-person care and help with insulins and migraine treatments.
The drugmaker emphasizes that the doctors connected through the website are independent and not paid to promote its products. Similarly, the drugmaker is not paid to send referrals to them. The move comes after U.S. regulators approved Zepbound, a version of the popular diabetes treatment Mounjaro, for use as a weight-loss treatment, joining Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy in the field of chronic weight management.
According to Lilly CEO David Ricks, the site was developed to simplify the U.S. healthcare system, which can be complex for individuals managing a chronic disease. The launch received positive feedback from Caitlin Donovan, a senior director for the non-profit Patient Advocate Foundation, who noted that pairing prescription help with access to doctors in one location is unique and will streamline the healthcare system.
While telemedicine has grown in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lilly assures that the care providers available through LillyDirect will use their own judgement in deciding treatment, and that may not include medication use. The launch of LillyDirect is a step in the direction of simplifying healthcare for patients managing chronic diseases and provides them with easy access to the necessary care and treatment.
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