WeightWatchers goes all in on women’s health and prescription weight loss

WeightWatchers, once a household name in the diet industry, is attempting a dramatic reboot after filing for bankruptcy earlier this year. On Tuesday, the company announced it will relist on the Nasdaq and pivot its business model to focus more deeply on women’s healthcare — especially menopause support — while integrating the blockbuster GLP-1 weight loss drugs that have upended the industry, the Financial Times reported.

The brand, rebranded as WW International in 2019, said it would soon launch a menopause-focused programme offering “tailored nutritional and behavioural strategies” as part of its renewed mission to address broader healthcare gaps.

The shift comes after years of declining revenue and the sudden rise of powerful GLP-1 medications such as Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro, which have transformed the weight loss landscape.

From workshops to a pharma-forward strategy

Founded in 1961, WeightWatchers built a global business helping people lose weight through group meetings, structured meal plans and point-based eating systems. Backed for years by media icon Oprah Winfrey, who remains a major shareholder, the company reached a peak market value of over $7 billion in 2018.

But its traditional in-person workshop model was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and its subscriber base began to shrink. Annual revenues fell from $1.5 billion in 2018 to under $800 million by 2024. Lawyers representing the company said during its May bankruptcy hearing that it could no longer service its $1.6 billion in debt due to “an evolution in consumer preferences and the rapid rise of GLP-1s.”

In response, WeightWatchers is now embracing the very drugs that disrupted its business. Last year, it acquired telehealth platform Sequence, giving the company the ability to prescribe GLP-1 medications directly to clients. The move aligns with the Trump administration’s May policy directive to enable direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical sales by reducing reliance on intermediaries.

New leadership signals new priorities

As part of its restructuring, WeightWatchers unveiled a new board of directors on Tuesday, including Mike Mason, the former president of Eli Lilly who oversaw the development of GLP-1 drug Mounjaro. “As medical treatments like GLP-1s become more widely used, the need for trusted, comprehensive care models that combine medication with lasting lifestyle change has never been greater,” Mason said in a statement.

The company also named Dr. Kim Boyd as its new chief medical officer, citing her “extensive experience” in women’s health. She will lead the company’s clinical strategy, particularly as it expands into menopause care.

Bankruptcy, rebranding and the road ahead

While Tuesday’s announcements mark a significant shift, the road to recovery remains steep. WeightWatchers is emerging from bankruptcy with a narrower focus but hopes its new direction — rooted in medical care, menopause, and GLP-1 therapies — will restore credibility and relevance in a vastly changed health and wellness market.

The brand plans to return to the Nasdaq exchange as part of its post-bankruptcy strategy. Its executives are now positioning the company less as a diet provider and more as a hybrid health platform that merges pharmacology, lifestyle support, and women-centric care.

Whether that vision can win back trust and financial footing remains to be seen. But WeightWatchers’ future now clearly lies beyond the calorie counter — and deep into the realms of medicine, menopause, and modernized care.