---
type: source
title: "Novo Nordisk / 9amHealth No-Barriers Bundle and Waltz Health DTE Channel: GLP-1 Access Architecture Evolving"
author: "HR Brew / BioxConomy / PR Newswire"
url: https://www.hr-brew.com/stories/2025/12/19/eli-lilly-novo-nordisk-direct-to-employer
date: 2025-12-19
domain: health
secondary_domains: []
format: article
status: processed
processed_by: vida
processed_date: 2026-04-29
priority: medium
tags: [GLP-1, direct-to-employer, Novo-Nordisk, 9amHealth, Waltz-Health, access, DTE, employer-benefits]
intake_tier: research-task
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

**The DTE GLP-1 landscape as of Q4 2025 – Q1 2026:**

**Novo Nordisk approach:**
- Partnership with 9amHealth (August 2025): specialist-led virtual clinic for obesity care through NovoCare.com
- Waltz Health: DTE access program for FDA-approved obesity medications, launched January 1, 2026
- 9amHealth No-Barriers Bundle: integrates access to FDA-approved obesity medications from BOTH Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk at fixed monthly costs
- 9amHealth in discussions with employer groups, anticipates first partnerships "in early 2026"

**Novo Nordisk vs. Eli Lilly positioning:**
- Eli Lilly forecasting 25% revenue growth 2026 despite price pressure
- Novo Nordisk warned: 5-13% sales decline in 2026 due to price falls in US + exclusivity expiry in China/Brazil/Canada
- Lilly gaining market share as Novo faces challenges; NVO climbing toward $41 as of April 2026 (recovery)

**GLP-1 utilization data:**
- Share of respondents using GLP-1s has "more than doubled since 2023, reaching 49%" — NOTE: this likely refers to a specific surveyed population (likely employer benefits survey), not general population. General population prevalence is lower.

**Cost vs. access tension:**
- 49% GLP-1 usage growth among surveyed populations vs. 22% decline in covered lives (3.6M → 2.8M)
- Higher utilization among those who maintain coverage + higher costs driving coverage withdrawal among health systems and regional payers

**DTE model assessment:**
- Both manufacturers (Lilly, Novo) now competing via DTE alongside traditional PBM channels
- But: neither has disclosed enrollment data or market penetration
- Expert consensus: incremental governance shift, not structural PBM displacement
- "Manufacturers positioning themselves as more active participants in employer access strategy"

## Agent Notes

**Why this matters:** Provides full picture of the GLP-1 DTE access architecture evolution. Both major GLP-1 manufacturers (Lilly, Novo) are now pursuing DTE channels, but DTE remains incremental. Critical context: Novo is facing financial pressure (sales decline warning) while Lilly grows — this market structure divergence may accelerate Lilly's DTE as differentiation strategy.

**What surprised me:** The Novo Nordisk 5-13% sales decline warning for 2026 was not in the KB. Given Ozempic/Wegovy's dominant brand recognition, the revenue decline suggests the GLP-1 market is more competitive and price-pressured than the "largest therapeutic category launch in history" narrative implied. Lilly's Zepbound (tirzepatide) appears to be winning the clinical competition through DTE access and efficacy data.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Enrollment data for the DTE programs. Neither Lilly, Novo, 9amHealth, nor Waltz Health has disclosed how many employers have enrolled or how many covered lives are in DTE channels. The lack of scale data makes it impossible to assess whether DTE is material or marginal.

**KB connections:**
- Relates to [[GLP-1 receptor agonists are the largest therapeutic category launch in pharmaceutical history but their chronic use model makes the net cost impact inflationary through 2035]] — the market is becoming more fragmented and price-competitive than this claim's framing
- Connects to the employer coverage crisis archive (3.6M → 2.8M decline) — utilization vs. coverage divergence
- Connects to value-based care transitions stall at the payment boundary — DTE doesn't change payment incentives

**Extraction hints:**
- NOT ready for standalone extraction — DTE architecture is too early and unscaled for a knowledge claim
- ENRICHMENT: The existing GLP-1 claim should note the competitive market structure (Lilly gaining, Novo declining, DTE emerging) as context for the "inflationary through 2035" trajectory
- WATCH: Track DTE enrollment data in future sessions — if DTE achieves meaningful scale (>1M covered lives), it becomes a legitimate claim about distribution disruption

**Context:** Multiple December 2025 sources (HR Brew DTE launch announcement). 9amHealth No-Barriers Bundle launched early 2026. BioxConomy analysis. Represents the access architecture state as of Q1 2026.

## Curator Notes

PRIMARY CONNECTION: [[GLP-1 receptor agonists are the largest therapeutic category launch in pharmaceutical history but their chronic use model makes the net cost impact inflationary through 2035]]
WHY ARCHIVED: DTE architecture context for GLP-1 access story. Also: Novo Nordisk 5-13% sales decline warning is a new data point suggesting competitive market pressure not captured in KB. Monitor but not ready for standalone extraction.
EXTRACTION HINT: Note the utilization/coverage divergence — usage up among those who have coverage, total covered lives declining. These are compatible but the net population-level access picture is worsening.
