Telehealth company Ro has announced a new campaign and multi-year partnership with tennis champion Serena Williams, centred on her own experience using GLP-1 injections to lose weight.
In an interview on NBC’s Today and an accompanying press release, Williams explained her struggle to lose weight after giving birth to her second daughter, and framed the partnership as an opportunity to help others discover the benefits of GLP-1 agonist weight loss medications.
“I’m partnering with Ro because if I needed help as a top athlete doing everything at level 10, I know others are struggling too, and everyone deserves access to the treatment they need,” Williams, one of the, if not the highest-profile athletes or celebrities to endorse GLP-1 injections, said in a statement.
According to the campaign, Williams lost 31 pounds over eight months using GLP-1 injections after initially receiving them from another provider and then switching to Ro. Williams’ husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, has sat on the company’s board since 2018, when the telehealth company formerly known as Roman rebranded to Ro.
The campaign has so far generated mixed reviews, with some praising Williams for her candor in embracing GLP-1 medicines and others sceptical of her and her husband’s financial involvement with the company.
Ro began offering compounded GLP-1 injections to its patients in February 2024. In December 2024, the company signed a partnership with Eli Lilly to offer Zepbound brand tirzepatide injections to Ro members through the LillyDirect dispensing network.
Its competitor in the telehealth space, Hims & Hers, signed a similar deal with Novo Nordisk for access to its Wegovy brand semaglutide and Mounjaro brand tirzepatide injections. Both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are developing oral medications that could see FDA approval as soon as early 2026.
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