On Monday, Novo Nordisk announced a discount on its popular drugs for diabetes and obesity, Ozempic and Wegovy, cutting prices for the lowest doses to $199 when patients pay cash through Novo’s own pharmacy NovoCare.
Patients searching for those deals online today, though, won’t always get funneled straight to the drugmaker’s site. Instead, the first results they may see are ads from telehealth companies that partner with Novo Nordisk.
Sponsored Google search results from LifeMD and WeightWatchers touting the temporary $199 discount — “Finally afford a GLP-1” — can appear before links to Novo Nordisk’s own sites. Telehealth companies can springboard off of consumer interest in drugmaker deals to drive patients to their platforms. On Monday, prescription drug discount platform GoodRx also used the opportunity to launch a new telehealth weight loss subscription.
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