Alloy Health, a virtual platform serving women in midlife, is expanding its weight care program with two new offerings: micro-dosing and the Wegovy pill.
Micro-dosing will allow for more personalized dosing for women who, for whatever reason, do not tolerate the manufacturer-made doses. The Wegovy pill introduces a daily oral GLP-1 option for women who prefer an alternative to injections. The company hopes to keep adding more brand-name products, including the Zepbound KwikPen, as they become available.
The products build on Alloy’s existing weight care program, launched last year, which aims to offer menopause-specialized weight care. The program offers physician-led hormonal expertise with personalized care plans designed for midlife women. Alloy is an entirely asynchronous, text-based provider.
Many women experience weight changes in menopause, yet their needs are often not addressed in a holistic way, Alloy executives said.
“Midlife weight gain has been misunderstood and undertreated for far too long. It is not a failure of discipline, it is a predictable result of hormonal shifts that most of healthcare has historically overlooked,” cofounder and co-CEO Anne Fulenwider said in an emailed statement.
“GLP-1s have changed the conversation around weight care, but access alone is not the same as treatment,” added cofounder and co-CEO Monica Molenaar. “In midlife, hormones are a central driver of metabolic change, and without addressing that, care is inherently incomplete. At Alloy, we start there by pairing menopause-informed care with physician-guided GLP-1 treatment, personalized dosing, and longitudinal support so weight is treated as part of a broader metabolic and hormonal picture.”
When women in menopause see weight gain, it is often accompanied by insulin resistance, changes to lipid profiles and more inflammation systemically. “That weight gain is now causing metabolic issues for the women,” Michelle Montville, M.D., Alloy's clinical director, told Fierce Healthcare. As those markers become abnormal, this increases women’s risk for cardiovascular disease, she added. “We are very keenly aware of how all of those things are related.”
While menopausal hormone therapy can mitigate some of these changes, it can only go so far, per Montville. GLP-1s can help manage these changes and improve metabolic risk at the same time. Alloy counsels patients on nutrition, exercise and sleep—all the things necessary for long-term health. “We really do stress how important it is for women to build muscle and maintain muscle for their bone health,” Montville noted.
Some women are already implementing lifestyle changes and still need a little help to lose the extra weight. Their goal might be to use a GLP-1 for a year or two. For others—like those with obesity, which is a chronic disease—it is an indefinite commitment, per Montville.
While Alloy prioritizes brand-name drugs, they are occasionally not the right fit for some women. Say, for instance, that they can’t tolerate the medication or want to try a lower dose. For those patients, Alloy is offering compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide. Alloy does a clinical assessment with each patient, determines their goals, and decides whether the brand name or compounded version is more appropriate.
“The FDA is really clear on how compounded medications should be used and we’re very mindful of that,” Montville acknowledged, referring to the fact that the FDA currently only permits compounded GLP-1s if they are personalized. “It really comes down to that conversation that happens between a physician and a patient and they figure out together what’s most appropriate.”
Alloy is mindful about affordability, using DTC pharma programs such as LillyDirect and NovoCare. This is cheaper for patients than buying from a pharmacy, Montville said. Even if a patient has insurance, the program can cross-check with their plan to see if they have coverage. “It’s a really nice option for patients to have,” Montville said.
When Alloy patients are first getting started on GLP-1s, the company does monthly check-ins with them. Once they reach a maintenance dose, Alloy checks in with patients every three months either via text or a phone conversation. Alloy’s leadership is in frequent communication with the doctors it contracts with to report any concerns with medications that arise.
Alloy’s Weight Care Program is $99 a month, plus the cost of medication, which starts at $70 a month.
“The important part of this is that your approach to your health in midlife transition is not just one thing—we really need to think about this holistically,” Montville said.