EXCLUSIVE: Healthcare Startup Andel Says Its Employer GLP-1 Model Bypasses PBMs, May Lower Costs For Eli Lilly’s Zepbound

A venture-backed healthcare startup wants to fix how employers pay for GLP-1s — without touching insurance.

Andel launched its direct-to-employer medication platform Wednesday, backed by $4.5 million in initial funding. Eli Lilly and Company‘s (NYSE:LLY) newly approved Zepbound KwikPen is the platform’s first available medication.

No PBM, No TPA, No Pre-Authorization

Andel consolidates employer demand and buys directly from manufacturers at cash prices. Employers set their own contribution. Workers pay the rest — typically less than other cash channels, CEO Jay Bregman told Benzinga.

Prescription, payment, and next-day delivery all run through one app.

The Problem Andel Is Solving

Roughly two-thirds of employers don’t cover GLP-1s for weight loss. Traditional coverage offers no cost flexibility.

“Employers are forced to choose between zero coverage and cost overruns,” Bregman said. Andel targets the tens of millions of workers currently locked out.

Why PBMs Can’t Copy This

Andel’s Zepbound product isn’t available to pharmacy benefit managers on the reimbursement channel — a hard structural barrier.

“It’s sort of like asking why taxi companies didn’t build Uber,” Bregman told Benzinga. “It’s a totally different business model.”

Lilly’s Kevin Hern, Senior Vice President of Lilly Employer, called the collaboration a step toward “flexible, transparent solutions for employers.”

Bregman agrees the model expands access rather than cannibalizes existing channels.

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