Weight management platform Found is today launching oral semaglutide dissolvable tablets for individuals looking for alternative ways to administer anti-obesity drugs.
The new, compounded offering is notably cheaper than most injectable versions of GLP-1 drugs. Found’s product will cost $189 over a four-week dosage. It presents a unique opportunity for certain users to lose or maintain weight at a reduced cost, said Rekha Kumar, M.D., head of medical affairs at Found.
“One of the concerns about GLP-1s has been the cost of people being on them long-term,” she said. “Although many of the pharma clinical trials show that most people that stop the medicine regain weight within the first year, what we’re seeing in clinical practice is that people with less weight to lose—that are very adherent to comprehensive lifestyle approach, which we can provide at Found—have the ability to taper off to some degree.”
The Biden administration recently proposed Medicare and Medicaid cover anti-obesity drugs, but President-elect Donald Trump may not opt to finalize the rule. States and insurers oftentimes do not cover the drugs due to their high costs.
The product is not meant for everyone interested in GLP-1 drugs. Kumar anticipates cost-sensitive or needle-averse individuals will be excited at the price point and easy administration it provides. Oral dissolvable drugs also allow people to privately take the drug, rather than storing them in the refrigerator, and the side effects of the new offering are less strong.
GLP-1 drugs are administered by companies in different formats including by injection, swallowable, subcutaneous and sublingual. Branded Wegovy and Zepbound normally cost $800 to $1,200 but can be as low as $500 with a coupon. If insurance covers the drug, which is increasingly less common, copays range from $25 to $900, said Kumar.
Others lose weight using GLP-1 injections but then lose insurance coverage, while some are skeptical of GLP-1s but could use dissolvable tablets as a ramp-on product toward branded GLP-1s.
Offering another form of semaglutide will allow Found collect more data, said Kumar.
“It requires a lot of personalization and that's one of the things that our team at Found does,” she said. “I don't think it's going to be a straightforward answer, which is why no one has really figured this out, and we need a lot of data and a lot of touch points with a patient. I don’t think pharma is necessarily incentivized to figure out the dosing in this population that’s looking to use less medicine.”
Rybelsus, an Food and Drug Administration-approved oral GLP-1 drug, is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes but not weight loss.
"While bioavailability may be lower with oral dissolving tablets compared to injectable formats, this can actually be advantageous for specific patient needs," said Kumar. "As part of Found's comprehensive formulary, oral dissolving tablets further allow us to personalize care while gathering valuable real-world insights from patient experiences in terms of efficacy, side effect profile, and even adherence."
A low bioavailability indicates less of the semaglutide will be properly absorbed by the body.
Evidence in recent years showing GLP-1’s potential link in treating neurodegenerative disease, reducing inflammation and suppressing alcohol desire comes largely from real-world data, she added.
Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved, leading to concerns over safety and efficacy. Kumar said the company’s first priority is safety and transparency with patients about the risks and benefits of each drug. She added Found only works with regulated 503A pharmacies. A FAQ on compounded drugs is available on Found’s website.
Maintenance and de-escalation protocols exist for Found patients if they lose a significant amount of body weight, allowing individuals to cross-taper to less strong medications as they approach their target weight.
Found prescribes 12 different anti-obesity medications, including branded and compounded GLP-1 drugs. It has served more than 250,000 patients since 2019 and booked more than 1 million visits.
“There aren’t people that get a one-time prescription and keep refilling,” said Kumar. “That’s not our goal. Our goal is to see the patient and follow up. An oral dissolving tablet gives us an option to offer something between a GLP-1 and cold turkey stopping, which leads to weight regain.
“We want to be a responsible telehealth partner to academia and be able to treat people that couldn’t normally get in the door,” she added. “I think what our responsibility is as an innovative telehealth company is to be clinically rigorous and responsible, but also be able to collect and gather data on populations of people that don’t normally have access.”
In the future, if the FDA declares the semaglutide shortage is over, that won’t affect Found’s ability to sell oral dissolvable tablets because the pills will be prescribed in individualized doses and for personalized reasons, which is different than Rybelsus, Kumar explained.