New Partnership Tackles Soaring GLP-1 Costs for Employers

REDMOND, Wash. – January 09, 2026 – As employers grapple with the skyrocketing costs of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, a new collaboration between healthcare technology firm Prescryptive Health and obesity care specialist Ilant Health aims to forge a new path. The companies announced a partnership today designed to provide employers with direct access to these popular therapies, combining transparent pricing with rigorous clinical oversight in a model that challenges the traditional pharmacy benefits system.

The collaboration integrates Ilant's "Center of Excellence" for obesity management with Prescryptive's direct-to-market technology platform. The goal is to deliver GLP-1 medications within a framework that promises predictable costs for employers and measurable health outcomes for their employees, addressing a critical pain point in corporate health benefits.

The Escalating GLP-1 Challenge for Employers

The rise of GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic and Wegovy has been meteoric, creating a market valued at over $24 billion in 2023 and projected to surge past $55 billion by 2032. While effective, their high price tags—often exceeding $700 per month—have sent shockwaves through employer-sponsored health plans. Recent industry data reveals that total GLP-1 costs have jumped by 81% since 2023, now consuming as much as 18% of a company's total pharmacy spend.

This financial pressure is compounded by several factors. Many employers struggle with a lack of transparency in the traditional Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) model, leaving them uncertain about the true net cost of these drugs after rebates and fees. Furthermore, the return on investment is often unclear. Studies show that 30% to 50% of patients discontinue GLP-1 therapy within a year, frequently regaining the weight they lost and undermining the long-term health and financial benefits. This high churn rate, coupled with concerns about off-label use and the administrative burden of managing prior authorizations, has left many benefits leaders searching for a more sustainable strategy. In response, some companies have been forced to implement strict restrictions or consider dropping coverage for weight-loss indications altogether.

A New Model: Direct Access and Clinical Oversight

The Prescryptive-Ilant partnership is positioned as a direct answer to this crisis. It seeks to replace the opaque and often fragmented traditional model with an integrated system focused on value and accountability.

"Employer-direct GLP-1 access requires more than pricing innovation. It requires an operating model that aligns clinical oversight, predictable economics, and accountable access," said Chris Blackley, CEO and Co-Founder of Prescryptive. "Centers of Excellence like Ilant Health deliver the care, manufacturers provide direct access and pricing models, and Prescryptive enables the employer-direct channel that brings these elements together."

Prescryptive's technology platform serves as the core infrastructure, creating a direct channel between drug manufacturers and employers. This bypasses many of the traditional intermediaries, allowing employers to access transparent, net-of-rebate pricing. The platform is designed to be highly configurable, enabling employers to set specific benefit rules and eligibility criteria that are enforced at the point of sale across a national network of over 60,000 pharmacies.

Paired with this financial and logistical framework is Ilant Health's clinical engine. Operating as a Center of Excellence, Ilant provides personalized, evidence-based obesity care that goes beyond simply dispensing a prescription. The model incorporates structured lifestyle support, ongoing outcome tracking, and clinical pathways to ensure GLP-1s are prescribed appropriately and are part of a comprehensive health strategy. This approach has yielded impressive results, with participating employers reporting that over 90% of enrolled members remain on therapy at the six-month mark—a stark contrast to industry averages. These members have achieved an average weight loss of 15% across various treatments.

"Our Center of Excellence model enables us to deliver clinically rigorous obesity and cardiometabolic care across a broad population, driving life-changing outcomes for members and measurable results for employers," said Elina Onitskansky, CEO and Co-Founder of Ilant Health. "Prescryptive enables customized GLP-1 access and pricing models, enabling financial stewardship of this high-value treatment."

Disrupting the PBM Playbook

This collaboration represents a significant move in a broader industry trend toward disrupting the established PBM-centric supply chain. For years, employers have voiced frustration over the complexity and opacity of a system where PBMs control formularies, negotiate confidential rebates with manufacturers, and ultimately determine patient access and costs. Regulatory bodies have taken notice, with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launching inquiries into PBM business practices.

The Prescryptive-Ilant model offers a glimpse into an alternative future. By creating a "closed-loop, incentive-aligned" ecosystem, it aims to give employers direct control and clear line-of-sight into their pharmacy spending. Prescryptive’s platform provides employers with complete data ownership and real-time reporting, a level of transparency seldom offered in traditional PBM arrangements. This allows for direct performance measurement tied to both financial and clinical outcomes.

This approach not only empowers employers but also offers a new channel for pharmaceutical manufacturers seeking to ensure their high-value therapies are used appropriately and that pricing benefits reach patients and payers directly. It provides a scalable pathway for delivering bundled care and therapy access with aligned incentives for all parties.

Balancing Cost, Access, and Long-Term Health

While cost control is a primary driver, the partnership's emphasis on clinical integrity addresses another critical aspect of the GLP-1 revolution: ensuring positive long-term health outcomes. Emerging research highlights potential side effects of GLP-1s, such as the loss of lean muscle mass along with fat. This underscores the necessity of integrated programs that include structured lifestyle and nutritional support to maximize benefits and mitigate risks.

By embedding GLP-1 access within a comprehensive clinical program, the model ensures that medication is a tool within a broader strategy for sustainable health improvement, not just a standalone, short-term fix. This is crucial for employers who are not just looking to cut costs, but to foster a healthier, more productive workforce.

"Employer demand for clinically rigorous, economically sustainable GLP-1 access continues to grow," noted Rae McMahan, SVP of Payer Solutions at Prescryptive Health. "Prescryptive enables an employer-direct access ecosystem where leading Centers of Excellence like Ilant can deliver bundled care and therapy access with aligned incentives, giving employers confidence, manufacturers a clear and scalable access pathway, and clinical operators the ability to grow responsibly."

As the healthcare industry continues to navigate the complexities of high-cost specialty drugs, such direct-to-employer models that prioritize transparency, clinical value, and shared accountability may represent the next major evolution in prescription drug benefits.