Serena Williams to promote weight-loss drugs with telehealth firm Ro
FILE PHOTO: Sep 2, 2022; Flushing, NY, USA; Serena Williams of the United States hits to Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia on day five of the 2022 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
Telehealth company Ro has tapped tennis star Serena Williams as a celebrity patient ambassador for its weight-loss treatments, the company said Thursday.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who retired from professional tennis in 2022, will headline a multi-year national marketing campaign for GLP-1 drugs, a company spokesperson said.
"I don't take shortcuts," Williams said in an NBC News interview, adding that her efforts to lose weight before turning to GLP-1 treatments included professional tennis training.
"I was doing everything right ... but my body wasn't responding the way it used to," she said.
Williams said in an advertisement that after struggling to lose post-baby weight, the treatments helped her lose 31 pounds (14 kg) - her first time speaking out about using them, Ro said.
"Serena knows people may be surprised to learn that she would use a GLP-1, and that’s exactly why we think she is the perfect person to share her story," said a Ro spokesperson.
Ro said Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of social media site Reddit, is an investor in the company and serves on its board.
GLP-1 drugs promote weight loss by reducing appetite and causing the stomach to empty more slowly. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound have been shown to reduce weight by around 20 per cent.
Ro, which sells both drugs through its weight-loss program, said Williams was on a branded GLP-1 but declined to say which one.
Paul Cerro, a former Ro strategy analyst and founder of Cedar Grove Capital Management, said the deal will boost Ro’s visibility and credibility in a crowded weight-loss drug market as companies push deeper into women’s health.
"Well known people are willing to put their name with a company that they believe is doing the right thing in the right way," said Cerro.
Ro offers cash-pay access to Zepbound and Wegovy through Novo and Lilly’s direct pharmacies, although eligible patients can use insurance. It sells compounded Wegovy in varying doses for patients whose clinicians deem it medically necessary.
