Virta Expands its Provider-led Weight Loss Program to Adults with BMI >25 As Demand Surges for Cost Effective Alternatives to GLP-1 Drugs

Virta Health, the leader in drug-free clinical weight loss and type 2 diabetes reversal, today announced significant traction against the company’s expansion into weight loss solutions. In late 2020, Virta expanded its offerings beyond type 2 diabetes to additional clinical indications, including people living with prediabetes and obesity. Virta announced it recently started treating overweight individuals with a BMI of 25 and above, further demonstrating the reach, effectiveness, and cost reduction potential of a non-pharmaceutical approach to clinical weight loss.

A significant milestone for the company, monthly new member enrollments in its weight loss offerings now surpass enrollments in its flagship type 2 diabetes reversal product. The company saw more than 150 percent growth year-over-year in covered lives for its obesity product. Moreover, 100 percent of Virta’s new large employer groups sold this year have contracted for both type 2 diabetes and clinical weight loss offerings, up from just 10 percent a few years ago. With this expansion, Virta’s reversal solutions address chronic diseases faced by more than 75 percent of the US adult population.

Building off the company’s success in reversing diabetes, Virta is now seeing its most rapid growth among the non-diabetes population as both consumers and large enterprises search for a cost-effective alternative and an adjunct to GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.

“Virta delivers drug-like impact, without the drugs,” said Dr. Adam Wolfberg, Chief Medical Officer at Virta. “Some people don’t want to be on these drugs at all or can’t tolerate them long-term, and we have a solution for them. Others try the drugs for a while but realize it’s not the magic pill they were hoping for. Or simply, they don’t want to be on them for the rest of their life. For those people, we provide a safe and sustainable off-ramp so they can live without GLP-1s and sustain a healthy weight.”

Weight loss with Virta Health by the numbers:

• On average, Virta patients sustain body weight loss of 12 percent at the one-year and two-year mark. This far exceeds the 5 percent threshold for weight loss to be considered “clinically significant”.
• The vast majority of Virta patients achieved these weight loss results without the use of GLP-1s - roughly 75 percent of Virta patients with type 2 diabetes and >95 percent of Virta clinical weight loss patients enroll without GLP-1s.
• Patients lose an average of 31 lbs at the one-year mark of using Virta, with minimal loss of lean body mass (LBM).

“All of these conditions—diabetes, prediabetes, obesity—may share the same root cause,” said Virta’s CMO, Adam Wolfberg. “And it is not a personal choice or failing, but a metabolic disorder frequently driven by our toxic food environment. Drugs can be one tool to address these conditions for some, but at Virta, we believe there is no magic pill, which is why we go back to the source—nutrition.”

“We have been working with Virta Health for three years, and the outcomes have been remarkable,” said Diana Morgan, Director of Well-being and Benefits at Pilot Travel Centers. “While we were drawn to Virta for their ability to reverse type 2 diabetes, earlier this year, we expanded to offer their clinical weight loss solutions. We were one of the first companies at Virta to offer it to those with a lower BMI to help even more of our team members in need.”

Founded in 2014 and named to the TIME100 Most Influential Companies of 2023 list, Virta Health provides human-centered coaching on lifestyle changes to support diabetes and obesity prevention and treatment for consumers and major employers. The company pioneered the category of type 2 diabetes reversal and continues to be the industry leader in this space, with nearly 500 enterprises and 40+ health plan customers.

For nearly a decade, Virta Health has been de-prescribing GLP-1 drugs while sustaining clinically significant weight loss. Since the product expansion, Virta has seen tremendous growth and demand for its offerings amidst widespread interest in solutions and rising costs for GLP-1 drugs.

GLP-1s have experienced soaring demand over the past two years, with brands such as Ozempic and Wegovy becoming household names. The drugs’ high price tag—often more than $1,000 per month—combined with their rapidly growing utilization is straining budgets for patients, employers, and health plans.

GLP-1 drugs have also been plagued by low levels of adherence outside of tightly controlled clinical trial environments, driven by numerous factors, including drug side effects, supply shortages, and high out-of-pocket costs. More than 68 percent of people with obesity stop using GLP-1s within the first year, according to a recent real-world analysis. Because much of the weight loss is regained once people stop using the drugs, much of the spend on GLP-1s is also therefore wasted.

Virta is available today to over 2M Americans via health insurance providers, including Blue Shield of California and Banner Aetna, and large employers like AutoZone, Uhaul, and Papa Johns.

About Virta Health:

Virta Health is the leader in type 2 diabetes reversal and is creating a new standard in medical care for people living with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, or obesity. Our virtual approach combines personalized nutrition therapy with continuous provider-led support to empower members to eliminate medications, lose weight, and take back their lives. Virta has earned the trust of the nation’s largest organizations, including Humana, AutoZone, and Blue Shield of California. We also deliver industry-leading cost savings of over $6,000 per member per year while putting our fees at risk based on health outcomes. To learn more, visit www.virtahealth.com.

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