Business Blog: ‘When startup culture meets health care’

As more and more weight-loss startups prescribe Ozempic and Wegovy, doctors say they're making unproven claims

July 10, 2024

Jessica Mathews and Alena Botros here, filling in for Allie.

Founders love to solve problems, and when you start looking into the big business of prescribing Ozempic, Wegovy, and other weight-loss drugs, you’ll find a lot of things to fix. In the buzzy world of GLP-1s, as these weight-loss medications are known, there are steep price tags, frequent shortages, and soaring demand—a perfect storm for innovation, and chaos.

It's no surprise, then, that dozens of startups—from Ro to Hims & Hers to Measured—have piled into this space and started prescribing Hollywood's latest miracle drug. After all, Wall Street analysts are predicting as much as $100 billion in annual revenue to be made from anti-obesity medications in the next six years.

But some of these startups, it turns out, are making unproven claims in their efforts to reel in customers. As we write in a new feature for Fortune, Noom, Calibrate, and Embla tell customers they can stop taking GLP-1s and keep off the weight they've lost. Doctors and drug manufacturers, however, told us otherwise.

From our story:

Seven doctors who spoke with Fortune say the preponderance of medical trials so far show that generally, people who stop taking the drugs regain most of the weight they've lost within about a year. Fortune also spoke with five people who had stopped taking GLP-1 medications—all of whom said they started regaining the weight they had lost when they stopped taking the medications and their food cravings returned.

"There is no such thing as a 'metabolic reset,'" says Dr. Angela Fitch, chief medical officer of Knownwell, a primary care and obesity medicine provider, and past president of the Obesity Medicine Association. Dr. Caroline Apovian, the co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women's Hospital, agrees: "The studies show over and over and over again," Apovian says, that if you stop taking the medications, "you will regain the weight back."

Research on GLP-1s is still in its early stages, whether it be what happens when you're on the drugs, or off them. The science is far from settled—though that hasn't stopped some companies from reassuring customers that they can take, and stop, the drugs at will.

Some of these companies have framed the issue as partly one of customer demand. When asked about the company's marketing of Ozempic as a drug to take for a limited time, Noom emphasized that most patients don't want to stay on the medications forever, noting research showing that "68% of people stop taking the GLP-1 by month 12 suggests a reticence to a forever medication by many. It would be difficult to stress this point enough."

Even so, the role of startups in the proliferation of new medications—and all the potential ramifications—have not gone unnoticed. "That culture of 'move fast and break things'—when applied to people, and people become the 'thing'—is really dangerous," says Ragen Chastain, a researcher, board-certified patient advocate, and author of a newsletter that explores weight science. "There is a lot of potential for harm to be done here when startup culture meets health care."

You can read the full story here.

See you tomorrow,

Jessica Mathews and Alena Botros
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VENTURE DEALS

- Infinite Reality, a New York City-based platform for building Metaverse experiences, raised $350 million in funding from a private family office.

- Captions, a New York City-based generative AI video creation and editing platform, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Index Ventures led the round and was joined by existing investors Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and others.

- ZwitterCo, a Woburn, Mass.-based water filtration company, raised $58.4 million in Series B funding. Evok Innovations led the round and was joined by DCVC, BHP, Munich Re Ventures, Siteground, HG Ventures, and Blue Horizon Ventures.

- Athletic Brewing Company, a Milford, Conn.-based non-alcoholic brewery, raised $50 million in funding. General Catalyst led the round and was joined by existing investors.

- NALA, a London, U.K.-based payments platform designed for users to send money to and from Africa, raised $40 million in Series A funding. Lauren Kolodny of Acrew Capital led the round and was joined by DST Global, Amplo, existing investors, and others.

- NOWDiagnostics, a Springdale, Ariz.-based developer of over-the-counter and point-of-care diagnostic tests, raised $22.5 million in Series B funding. DigitalDX Ventures led the round and was joined by Labcorp Venture Fund and Kompass Kapital Management.

- Courier Health, a New York City-based customer relationship management platform for life sciences companies, raised $16.5 million in Series A funding. Norwest Venture Partners led the round and was joined by existing investor Work-Bench.

- Cyactic, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based cyber crisis readiness and management platform, raised $16 million in seed funding. Evolution Equity Partners led the round.

- epilot, a Cologne, Germany-based green energy transition platform, raised €10 million ($10.8 million) from Expedition Growth Capital.

- Scaler, a New York City and Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based ESG reporting platform for real estate investors, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Plural led the round and was joined by existing investor Base10.

- Rome, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based platform designed to bring modular Solana services to Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, raised $9 million in funding from Hack VC, P2 Ventures, HashKey, Portal Ventures, Bankless Venture, Robot VC, and others.

- Enso, a London, U.K.-based developer of AI agents designed for small to medium sized businesses, raised $6 million in seed funding from NFX.

- Dora, a New York City-based multi-ecosystem search engine, raised $5.5 million in funding. Dragonfly Capital and Lemniscap led the round and was joined by Robot Ventures, Ethereal Ventures, Maven11, and Arche Capital.

- Tracebit, a London, U.K.-based cloud threat detection company, raised $5 million in seed funding. Accel led the round and was joined by Tapestry VC and angel investors.

- Dono, a Palm Beach, Fla. and Tel Aviv, Israel-based AI-powered homeownership verification platform, raised $3.7 million in funding. lool Ventures led the round and was joined by Link Ventures, inc/, Recursive Ventures, and others.

- Niva, a New York City-based business onboarding platform, raised $3.3 million in funding. Gradient Ventures led the round and was joined by Picus Capital, Canary Gilgamesh Ventures, and others.

- Accend, a San Francisco-based compliance and risk platform, raised $3.2 million in seed funding. Adverb Ventures led the round and was joined by Y Combinator, General Catalyst, 645 Ventures, and angel investors.

- DreamFlare AI, a San Francisco-based platform for AI-generated content in the form of full-length narrative episodes, raised $1.65 million in pre-seed funding from FoundersX and others.

- BOB (Build on Bitcoin), a London, U.K.-based hybrid Layer-2 powered by Bitcoin and Ethereum, raised $1.6 million in funding. Ledger Ventures led the round and was joined by angel investors.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Impel, backed by Silversmith Capital, acquired Outsell, a Minneapolis, Minn.-based customer engagement platform, for more than $100 million in cash considerations as well as Impel equity.

- Susquehanna Growth Equity invested $38 million in Tierra Encantada, a Eagan, Minn.-based Spanish immersion childcare company.

- American Industrial Partners acquired the Feed Ingredients segment of Aker BioMarine, a Oslo, Norway-based krill harvester and distributor. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Bain Capital agreed to acquire a minority stake in MRO Holdings, a Panama-based aircraft maintenance and modifications provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- ConverseNow, backed by Enlightenment Hospitality Investments, acquired Valyant AI, a Denver, Colo.-based developer of restaurant drive-thru automation technology. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- FTV Capital acquired a majority stake in ZEMA Global Data Corporation, a Vancouver, B.C.-based enterprise data management and analytics provider for the commodity and energy sectors. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- KnowBe4, backed by Vista Equity Partners, acquired Egress, a London, U.K.-based cloud email security platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- SAIGroup acquired Get Well, a Bethesda, Md.-based patient engagement platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Specialty Appliances, a portfolio company of Reynolda Equity Partners, acquired Ordont Orthodontic Appliance Lab, a St. Louis, Mo.-based manufacturer of orthodontic and specialty dental appliances. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- TA Associates acquired the Association & Events and Nonprofit Solutions divisions of Community Brands, a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based provider of software for events, fundraising, operations, and more. TA will form Momentive Software, a new platform, from the acquisitions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Tyto Athene, a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners, acquired MindPoint Group, a McLean, Va.-based provider of cybersecurity services to U.S. federal agencies and organizations. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Vista Equity Partners led a majority investment in Nasuni, a Boston, Mass.-based enterprise data platform. TCV and KKR also participated. The investment values Nasuni at approximately $1.2 billion.

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EXITS

- The Private Equity business at Goldman Sachs Alternatives agreed to acquire a majority stake in TAIT, a Lititz, Pa.-based live experiences company, from Providence Equity Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- mdf commerce acquired EcoInteractive, a San Francisco-based provider of transportation and environmental software-as-a-service, from Alpine Software Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Vetnique Labs, backed by Gryphon Investors, agreed to acquire Lintbells, a Hertfordshire, U.K.-based pet supplements retailer under the YuMOVE brand, from Inflexion. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Warren Equity Partners acquired MoboTrex, a Davenport, Iowa-based producer of traffic control systems, from Rowe Tomes Advisors.

OTHER

- Duolingo (Nasdaq: DUOL) acquired Hobbes, a Detroit, Mich.-based animation and motion design studio. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IPOS

- Ardent Health, a Brentwood, Tenn.-based hospital group, plans to raise up to $314.6 million in an offering of 14.3 million shares priced between $20 and $22 on the New York Stock Exchange. The company posted $5.5 billion in revenue for the year ending March 31, 2024. EGI-AM Investments, ALH Holdings, and Pure Health Holding back the company.

- TWFG, a The Woodlands, Texas-based personal and commercial insurance company, plans to raise up to $167 million in an offering of 11 million shares priced between $14 and $16 on the Nasdaq. The company posted $179 million in revenue for the year ending March 31, 2024. Bunch Family Holdings and RenaissanceRE Ventures back the company.

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

- Monomoy Capital Partners, a New York City and Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm, raised $1.6 billion for its fifth fund focused on manufacturing, distribution, and business services companies.

- Avesi Partners, a Stamford, Conn. and Richmond, Va.-based private equity firm, raised $1.35 billion for its second fund focused on healthcare and business services companies.

PEOPLE

- Delos Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm, hired Ari Lefkovits and Andrew Schweibold as co-managing directors. Formerly, Lefkovits was with Lazard and Schweibold was with BoldRose Capital.

- Updata Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm, promoted Mary Hampton McNeal to vice president and Ryan Bernard to senior associate.

- 645 Ventures, a New York City and San Francisco-based venture capital firm, promoted Jonathan Smith to principal.