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Amid the NBA playoffs and changing market dynamics facing compounded GLP-1 distributors, Ro just got a little starpower to promote its offerings: NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. 

The telehealth company announced Tuesday morning Barkley is joining as a celebrity ambassador and has been using products from its platform as part of his weight loss journey. 

In the past, Barkley was public about taking Eli Lilly’s type 2 diabetes drug Mounjaro, which helped him lose 50 pounds.

Barkley said he discontinued use of the product when the Food and Drug Administration declared a tirzepatide shortage in October 2023. 

Unable to get access to the treatment, Barkley regained some of the weight that he had lost. 

Now that the FDA lifted its shortage on tirzepatide, Barkley has joined forces with Ro to restart his weight loss journey with Lilly’s obesity drug Zepbound, which is accessible through the telehealth platform. 

“It’s been a deeply personal journey for Charles,” said Saman Rahmanian, Ro’s chief product officer. “We are glad that we can help him with consistent access to the medication.”

Teaming with a basketball legend

Partnering with an NBA legend to tout GLP-1 offerings is a way Ro will try to center the narrative around patients and distance itself from other telehealth companies that have experienced backlash.

Rahmanian said that the team is focused on expanding access to weight loss treatments to different patient populations, especially those from underserved backgrounds, which is why Barkley got involved. 

“He cares about expanding the conversation around the product to communities that typically don’t have access to these products,” he said. 

Rahmanian cited the platform’s built-in insurance calculator as an example of a way Ro aims to expand access for consumers. The feature determines whether products are covered by a patient’s insurance and offers the best price accordingly. 

The company will also be debuting a series of commercials with Barkley, which seek to highlight some of the challenges patients face as they attempt to access GLP-1 medications. 

In one of these feature ads — a 30-second spot that will premiere during the NBA playoffs — Barkley is seen sitting on a chair with a producer from Ro. Addressing the audience directly, the producer playfully teases Barkley for being a stereotypical “big mouth.” 

Barkley concedes this is true and expresses his goal to lose 65 pounds with GLP-1s through Ro — highlighting the ease of accessing the medication through the platform. 

Rahmanian said the Ro had fun developing a play on words for the ad and wanted to do something that showcased Barkley’s personality. 

“Chuck is Chuck, you know. He’s a bigger-than-life personality who is chatty and raw,” Rahmanian said. “He’s very authentic, which is why we chose that creative concept with him. His personality is also the reason why we are excited to do this partnership with Charles.”

In addition to commercials, Barkley will be debuting digitals on social media, as well as engaging in a number of press interviews to speak about his experience. 

Ro is also collaborating with Barkley’s recently-launched Round Mound Media on projects focused on obesity education and raising awareness of the efficacy of these treatments. 

“This is the first of us filming something with him. We are going to be following his journey losing 65 pounds over the next year and are excited to build out a long-term relationship with Charles,” added Rahmanian. 

Inside peek at compounders

Another notable aspect of the Barkley announcement is that it provides a glimpse into the future of how telehealth companies like Ro plan to operate in the future now that the GLP-1 shortages of the past few years have been resolved.

Currently, Ro has a partnership with Lilly where patients are able to access Lilly products directly through the platform. 

To streamline the prescription process, patients are paired with physicians directly on the site and are able to access ongoing medical support while taking GLP-1 treatments. 

The service offers patients similar prices to the ones they would receive directly from the drugmaker’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms like LillyDirect. 

This model is a departure from telehealth platforms offering their own compounded versions of GLP-1 treatments — a practice that has been under fire since tirzepatide and semaglutide were removed from the FDA shortage list in recent months. 

Earlier this year, Hims & Hers faced significant scrutiny from drugmakers for launching a minute-long Super Bowl ad touting its compounded GLP-1 treatments for a fraction of the branded drug price without detailing potential health risks posed to patients by the products. 

The company has since removed the product from its site and begun offering access to Lilly’s weight loss products instead.

Rahmanian noted that while the end of the shortage solves one aspect of the access problem for people seeking out the medication, it doesn’t mean people have easy access to it. He said the company is eager to help make it easier to access the treatment.

While DTC platforms from drugmarkers have evolved, Rahmanian explained that many of them still don’t offer direct access to physicians as they don’t want to seem like they are swaying customers to their product offerings. 

He said Ro fills that gap, offering patients access to such services on one platform.