23andMe gets into GLP1
23andMe leaves drug discovery, but embraces providing GLP1 Receptor Agonists -- emphasizing a shift to active preventative care.
You might not be familiar with 23andMe, but they're a company that does primarily genetic testing:
It turns out they're getting into the GLP1 Receptor Agonist race – they announced a study and at the same time as the study was published, started a telehealth GLP1 service:
Check out our quick explainer
The important bit is here:
In conjunction with this study, 23andMe’s telehealth platform, Lemonaid Health, plans to launch a new weight loss membership program. That program will include prescription GLP-1 medication and clinical consultations.
The weight loss management service fits within 23andMe’s broader strategy of delivering services to improve people’s health through prevention. The hope is that the GLP-1 research study will deepen our understanding of the efficacy of GLP-1s for weight loss.
23andMe can be argued to be delivering on it's strategy by providing genetic testing (and hopefully being able to catch likelihood of disease early), and it looks like GLP1s are a part of that strategy.
Is 23andMe just following a trend?
It's also likely that they're just seeing the enormous rise in purchasing of GLP1 medication and the growing size of the "obesity market":
Of course, GLP1 medication is for more than Obesity – originally being primarily for type 2 diabetes, but the public perception around the drug has shifted a lot.
You can read more about the increase in broader market desire for GLP1s written up by JP Morgan here:
J.P. Morgan
23andMe touts other benefits of GLP1s
In their glowing coverage of recent business changes, 23andMe also noted a bunch of other benefits of GLP1s – in particular early (and yet inconclusive) research on:
While the benefits for Sleep Apnea are somewhat well known (often weight loss is recommended in treating Sleep Apnea), effects on the other issues mentioned above would cause giant shifts in the demand for GLP1 Receptor Agonists.
One less source of new GLP1s: 23andMe leaves Drug discovery
One thing that might get buried in this news is that 23andMe actually shut down it's internal drug discovery group.
While this isn't great for availability of GLP1 drugs (clearly 23andMe has no confidence that they could find a reasonable GLP1 analogue), it might reflect a wider trend in the industry – it's possible that supply will be provided primarily by Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and other large players that already have a head start in GLP1 research.
