GLP-1 unicorn raises $200 million from Tom Brady, others
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As the Company Formerly Known as Twitter prepares to go public, its former CEO is raising money for a very different venture.
Driving the news: eMed, an employee telehealth company led by Linda Yaccarino, this morning announced $200 million in new funding at a post-money valuation north of $2 billion.
- Management consulting firm Aon led, joined by individuals like Tom Ricketts, Joe Lonsdale and Antonio Gracias.
- Plus, Tom Brady, who doubles as eMed's chief wellness officer.
Why it matters: Most workers don't have access to GLP-1 medicines via their employer health plans, despite the hype and health benefits.
- eMed is one of several new telehealth vendors that basically splits the costs, plus provides clinical programs to increase adherence.
- Aon was an early adopter, and eMed also recently launched a program for employers in partnership with CVS Caremark.
Zoom in: Axios health reporter Maya Goldman recently reported on how companies like eMed are combining two emerging trends: "Online cash purchases of drugs and secondary coverage arrangements that could keep workplace health premiums from soaring."
What they're saying: Yaccarino tells Axios that eMed plans to "look across the peptide ecosystem" for additional therapies and that the new capital should help it "expand globally."
- She also was relentlessly on message, not taking the bait when asked for thoughts about her chief wellness officer's ties to Alex Guerrero, who's twice settled with the FTC over making false claims tied to health products.
- Instead she said of Brady: "He's very involved in the company, sitting alongside me at meetings with CEOs, grinding and sharing ... he shares the same core values when it comes to population health."
The bottom line: A big issue going forward will be adoption of oral GLP-1 medicines, which can be cheaper than injectables but which have much stricter administration rules.
- Yaccarino says that the data eMed has received from manufacturing partners is that there is "unprecedented demand" for the orals, but it's too new to know if patients are sticking or switching back to shots.
