NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - WeightWatchers said

on Monday it will partner with Amazon ( AMZN ) to deliver

medications including injectable GLP-1 obesity treatments for

its members, a move the telehealth provider said will make it

easier for some customers to receive prescriptions.

WeightWatchers customers will be able to check whether their

medications are in stock and have the refrigerated drugs

delivered more efficiently by using the Amazon Pharmacy option

on its website, said WeightWatchers Chief Operating Officer Jon

Volkmann.

WeightWatchers, also known as WW International ( WW ), emerged from

bankruptcy in July having shed debt and with a plan to compete

for online weight-loss customers.

While its rivals focused on compounded copies of Novo

Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) Zepbound,

WeightWatchers embraced the branded drugs, announcing a

partnership with Novo to sell Wegovy to cash-pay customers

through NovoCare and its partner CenterWell Pharmacy.

WeightWatchers will continue to allow patients to fill

prescriptions through other pharmacies.

Demand for GLP-1 obesity treatments soared after clinical

trials showed they helped people lose around 15% of body weight

by making the stomach feel full.

In 2022, the drugs were declared in shortage by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration. Volkmann said during those

shortages, WeightWatchers customers in rural areas experienced

difficulty finding the drugs at in-person pharmacies.

Now, even with ample supplies of both drugs, Amazon ( AMZN ) said

access in rural areas was still a problem.

"We know that with GLP-1s specifically, there has been an

issue where folks are pharmacy hopping, looking for that

inventory," said Tanvi Patel, a vice president at Amazon

Pharmacy.

This month, Amazon ( AMZN ) launched kiosks where patients at some of

its One Medical clinics can pick up common prescriptions.

While Amazon ( AMZN ) sells GLP-1s by mail, drugs that require cold

storage will not be available in the kiosks.

The company's investment in speedy delivery, especially for

perishable items, has allowed Amazon ( AMZN ) to maintain temperatures

for GLP-1 shipments across the country, Patel said.

Shipping times for patients who subscribe to Amazon Prime,

the e-commerce giant's premium service, are one to two days for

all medications.

Patel estimated an average four-day delivery time for

non-Prime members, but said that shipping is often faster.

Amazon ( AMZN ) in June said it would provide same-day and next-day

delivery to 4,000 additional locales by the end of this year,

targeting small towns and rural areas, and invest over $4

billion to triple its delivery operations by 2026.