May 8 (Reuters) - Health and wellness products retailer

Vitamin Shoppe said on Wednesday that subscribers to its

telehealth service would have access to weight-loss medications

such as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Rybelsus.

Monthly medication subscription to the retailer's virtual

healthcare platform, Whole Health Rx, starts at an introductory

price of $219, and does not require insurance, the company said

in a statement.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The subscription covers the cost of drugs, whose immense

popularity and high prices are likely to keep them out of reach

for many patients in the coming year.

Developed initially to treat diabetes, GLP-1 drugs have been

shown to help patients lose 15% to 20% of their body weight in

clinical trials by suppressing food cravings.

CONTEXT

Vitamin Shoppe said it was launching Whole Health Rx with weight

management in focus, but would expand the program to cater to

other needs such as testosterone support, hormone replacement

therapy, hair loss and smoking cessation, among others.

Last month, retailer Costco Wholesale ( COST ) offered its roughly

130 million members access to weight-loss programs through its

partnership with online healthcare services provider Sesame,

although its subscription did not cover the cost of weight-loss

drugs.

BY THE NUMBERS

UBS analysts are expecting the global market for GLP-1 class of

drugs to grow to $126 billion by 2029 and identified the

expansion of the obesity market to be a "key driver."

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Anil D'Silva)