Announcement • May 22
MedPal AI plc Launches New Health, Dedicated Consumer Sub-Brand
MedPal AI plc had announced the launch of New Health, a dedicated consumer sub-brand focused on the GLP-1 weight-management and broader peptide medicines market opportunity, supported by a GBP 1.3 million national consumer marketing campaign. The launch is being positioned in the context of rapid growth in the GLP-1 category and ahead of the Board's anticipated UK approval of Novo Nordisk's once-daily weight-management pill in summer 2026. New Health will sit separately from the broader MedPal Clinic app and MedPal consumer platform. It has been created to give the Company a sharper consumer brand, acquisition funnel and patient journey for the highly competitive GLP-1 category, while continuing to use MedPal AI's regulated healthcare infrastructure comprising: AI-assisted intake, clinician-led assessment, prescribing where clinically appropriate, automated pharmacy dispensing and ongoing monitoring. GBP 1.3 million has been committed to a national consumer marketing programme, with performance-led digital activity expected to be a principal component. Marketing campaign is designed to drive traffic to websites new.co.uk and new.uk, to increase initiations of qualified consultations and to grow the New Health recurring patient base. The Board anticipates that the potential UK approval of Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy pill this summer could broaden the addressable market by attracting patients who may not previously have considered injection-based treatment. New Health will be underpinned by MedPal AI's NHS-contracted dispensing hubs in Runcorn and Swaffham, Distance Selling Pharmacy licences, direct supply agreements with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk for current GLP-1 medicines, and an AI layer built on Google Vertex AI. The Board notes published market research indicating that the GLP-1 category is expanding rapidly. Morgan Stanley Research has forecast that the global market for GLP-1 treatments could reach approximately GBP 140 billion by 2035, more than double reported 2025 levels. In the UK, Grand View Research estimates that the UK prescription weight-loss medications market was approximately GBP 313 million in 2025 and is projected to reach approximately GBP 1.85 billion by 2033, representing a compound annual growth rate of approximately 25% from 2026 to 2033. IQVIA evidence submitted to the UK Parliament also points to rapid private-market growth, indicating that more than 2,370,000 UK citizens had access to GLP-1s in July 2025, of which approximately 200,000 accessed treatment through the NHS. The Board anticipates that Novo Nordisk's once-daily oral semaglutide 25 mg weight-management pill, approved by the FDA in December 2025 and submitted to the EMA and other regulatory authorities during the second half of 2025, could receive UK approval during summer 2026. The Board believes that a pill-based GLP-1 option could bring a new cohort of customers into the market, including patients who may be reluctant to start injection-based treatment. The GBP 1.3 million marketing programme is intended to establish New Health as a recognised consumer entry point for eligible patients seeking regulated weight-management support. Target audiences will include UK adults actively researching weight-loss support, GLP-1 treatment options, obesity and metabolic health, as well as consumers who may become interested in tablet-based or other peptide-led treatment options as and when they are approved and clinically available in the UK. The Board expects oral GLP-1 availability, if approved, to broaden the top of the acquisition funnel and bring a new cohort of customers into the category. The marketing spend is expected to be phased over six months and performance-led, with digital channels such as Google expected to be a principal component. Management will monitor traffic to new.co.uk, initial consultations, completed clinical assessments, conversion to new patient sign-ups, retention, customer acquisition cost and gross contribution, with the ability to increase, reduce or reallocate spend according to unit economics, patient-safety requirements and clinical/pharmacy capacity. All New Health services and communications will be delivered subject to clinical eligibility, medicine availability, appropriate clinician review, prescription-only medicine rules and all applicable UK pharmacy, clinical governance and advertising requirements. CEO Jason Drummond owns the domain names new.co.uk and new.uk and has agreed to licence them to the Company for nil consideration for an initial period of six months. The provision of the domain licences constitutes a related party transaction for the purposes of AIM Rule 13. The directors of the Company, with the exception of Jason Drummond, having consulted with Cairn Financial Advisers LLP, the Company's nominated adviser, consider that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned. At the end of six months, the Company will have the option to acquire the domain names.
