Noom will start offering microdoses of compounded Wegovy (NVO), the blockbuster weight-loss drug, as the digital health company continues to adapt to the growing demand for affordable weight-loss solutions and a changing market.
Reuters (TRI) reported that Noom is rolling out personalized, smaller doses of semaglutide — the active ingredient in Wegovy — to help patients manage their weight while minimizing side effects (such as nausea) that are a common concern with full doses of the drug.
Microdoses can also help patients cut down on costs. Wegovy can cost upward of $349 for a 2.5-milligram vial. Meanwhile, Noom’s compounded semaglutide, offered through a telehealth model, allows patients to access the treatment at a fraction of the cost, starting at $149 for the first month.
Taking smaller doses of the medication has become popular due to the drugs’ expense and side effects, but Noom told Reuters that its goal isn’t to capitalize on the microdosing trend but rather to provide a more manageable and effective weight-loss solution, tailored to individual patient needs.
According to the news agency, Noom’s personalized approach could start with half of the standard 0.25-milligram starter dose of Wegovy and gradually increase to around half of the FDA-approved maximum dose of 2.4 milligrams over a 20-week period.
The move comes as demand for weight-loss medications such as Wegovy has surged, driven by their ability to help patients potentially lose up to 20% of their body weight.
The FDA is moving to rein in unapproved compounded versions of semaglutide-based drugs such as Wegovy. These versions were temporarily permitted during shortages, but that exemption ends May 22. Noom, however, is betting its personalized prescribing model will still comply with FDA rules, which allow compounding for individual patients under specific conditions.
“There is a personalized — and there has always been a personalized — exception,” Noom CEO Geoff Cook told Reuters.
Noom’s bet on microdoses of its weight-loss drug comes as recent figures suggest the drug market may be seeing signs of slowing growth. Sales of Wegovy reached approximately 17.36 billion Danish kroner (about $2.64 billion) in Q1 2025, reflecting a 19% year-over-year increase — but also a 13% quarter-over-quarter decline, indicating potential signs of market stagnation. And the CEO of Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk just stepped down after the company’s stock dropped 50% in a year.
Competition has intensified, with Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Zepbound and its coming GLP-1 pill adding pressure to the market for weight-loss drugs. Alongside these contenders, compounded alternatives to semaglutide are flooding the market, further complicating the landscape.
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