LifeMD Agrees To Partner With Medifast For Weight Management Solutions, LifeMD Up In Pre-market

(RTTNews) - LifeMD, Inc. (LFMD), a provider of virtual primary care services, Wednesday announced an alliance with Medifast (MED), a health and wellness company known for its habit-based and coach-guided lifestyle solution OPTAVIA.

Following this news, LifeMD shares are trading at $9.60, up 18.52% in pre-market on the Nasdaq.

Under the agreement terms, Medifast will use LifeMD's virtual platform to provide OPTAVIA Clients access to a clinically supported weight management program, including GLP-1 medications.

On the other hand, LifeMD will offer its patients an independent OPTAVIA Coach and other lifestyle support services as part of its weight management program.

This partnership is expected to establish LifeMD in a market that is projected to reach $100 billion by 2030, according to research by Morgan Stanley.

Further, Medifast has invested $20 million into LifeMD, comprising of $10 million in contributions to support the collaboration and another $10 million into the purchase of LifeMD's common stock.

The two companies agreed to partner after the success of their pilot program. According to a recent Medifast-commissioned survey, over 40 percent of consumers with a BMI greater than 27 are interested in prescription weight-loss medication, with even higher interest among those needing to lose more than 35 pounds.

"Together, Medifast and LifeMD expect to offer a comprehensive health offering starting with weight management, built around a powerful model of support that includes an independent OPTAVIA Coach and a board-certified affiliated clinician," commented Dan Chard, Chairman and CEO of Medifast.

In pre-market activity, Medifast shares are trading at $77.03, up 2.15% on the New York Stock Exchange.