AIOS Supply Chain Squeeze

This is a channel control risk more than a demand risk. AIOS sells branded GLP-1s at cost, so it does not own the drug, the price, or the pharmacy economics that matter most. If Lilly and Novo steer supply toward their own portals or preferred telehealth partners, AIOS can still generate patient demand, but it loses the inventory access and margin structure needed to turn that demand into durable revenue.

• Lilly and Novo are building direct routes to patients. Lilly launched LillyDirect in January 2024 to connect patients to independent prescribers and home delivery of Lilly drugs. NovoCare now ties Wegovy savings and self pay access to NovoCare Pharmacy. That gives manufacturers direct control over fulfillment, pricing, and patient routing.
  3 lilly 4 novocare
• Scaled telehealth players are already being pulled inside those manufacturer channels. Hims & Hers announced a long term collaboration with Novo Nordisk in April 2025, with Wegovy and Hims membership sold together. Ro also locked in Wegovy supply through NovoCare in the UK, competing on guaranteed access rather than lowest price.
  5 hims 6 sacra 7 sacra
• AIOS is structurally weaker in that setup because its UK growth came from being the cheapest regulated source of branded Wegovy and Mounjaro while taking no drug markup, with gross margins around 20%. That model works when branded inventory is available on acceptable terms. It breaks if manufacturers favor partners that keep more of the patient relationship and margin inside manufacturer controlled rails.
  1 sacra 2 sacra 5 hims

The next phase of GLP-1 telehealth looks more like a manufacturer controlled distribution network than an open marketplace. Winners will be the platforms that either secure preferred supply relationships or own enough clinical workflow, pharmacy infrastructure, and patient retention to remain useful even when Lilly and Novo set the terms.