April 2 (Reuters) - Primary care company knownwell said

on Wednesday it will provide health and weight-management

services on Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) direct-to-consumer online

healthcare platform, LillyDirect.

Patients on LillyDirect will have access to physicians from

knownwell for personalized services, knownwell said.

The company offers in-person and virtual primary care,

nutrition counseling and behavioral health services, covered

through patients' insurance.

CONTEXT

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) last month expanded its LillyDirect platform to

include telehealth providers to diagnose and care for patients

with Alzheimer's disease.

Telehealth firms have been partnering with LillyDirect to

offer Lilly's weight-loss drug, Zepbound.

These companies have been on the lookout for an avenue

to sell highly popular weight-loss drugs, as the compounded

drugs industry faces increasing restrictions on making copies of

the treatments.

While Zepbound and rival Novo Nordisk's Wegovy

were in shortage, several telehealth firms sold the drugs'

cheaper copies.

The branded drugs have since been removed from the U.S. Food

and Drug Administration's shortage list.

KEY QUOTE

"LillyDirect continues to expand our listing of independent

care provider options to benefit patients," Lilly said in an

emailed statement.

The drugmaker added that "LillyDirect continues to

evaluate additional independent care providers for inclusion in

an effort to improve patient choice and access to quality care."