Eli Lilly (LLY) has added a new telehealth partner to expand access to single-dose vials of its bestselling weight loss drug Zepbound.

Ro Health joins other telehealth platforms and Amazon pharmacy (AMZN) by giving patients access to Lilly’s best-in-class GLP-1 product by connecting to the pharmaceutical giant’s new direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect.

“Offering Zepbound single-dose vials – the most affordable branded incretin medication by list price – through another LillyDirect platform will help ensure greater availability of obesity treatments that are rigorously tested, approved and regulated by the FDA.” , said Patrik Jonsson, executive vice president and president. of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, in a press release.

The announcement comes as Lilly overcomes drug shortages and looks for ways to compete with compounded, or copied, versions of its drug, also known by its key ingredient, tirzepatide.

Ro CEO Zach Reitano told Yahoo Finance he was impressed with how quickly Lilly closed the deal, just over 100 days after launching the single-dose bottle option.

Lilly released the vials to get around production constraints on auto-injectors, which led to supply shortages that were only recently resolved. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the shortages were over but delayed a decision that would halt production of GLP-1 compounds, which are popular as patients struggle to access them.

Patients have turned to vials and injections, even though they are a bit more difficult to administer than auto-injectors due to shortages over the past two years. But Reitano said many patients who have diabetes or have been through a fertility journey are familiar with needles and therefore are able to adapt quickly.

The information page on Ro’s site describing how to administer the injections is one of the company’s most visited sites, Reitano said.

“They will watch the video over and over again because it’s a new experience for many. But they get used to it. I would say by the fourth or fifth week they watch the video less and less,” Reitano said.

Other telehealth platforms continued to offer compound products from Lilly and its competitor Novo Nordisk (NVO) drugs. Ro does not offer tirzepatide but does offer compounded semaglutide, the knockoff of Novo’s weight-loss drug Wegovy, Reitano said.

Anjalee Khemlani is the senior healthcare reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharmaceutical, insurance, healthcare, digital health, PBMs, and healthcare politics and policy. This of course includes GLP-1. Follow Anjalee on social media platforms X (Twitter), LinkedIn Bluesky @AnjKhem.

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