Wellster’s medicinal weight loss model and GLP-1s in Germany
HBI spoke with Dr. Manuel Nothelfer, founder at Wellster Healthtech Group based in Germany, part of a digital ecosystem that integrates a range of medical brands including online medicinal weight loss service GoLighter. 
Other products and services span across men’s health (GoSpring), women’s health (MySummer), hair loss (MySpring), medical self-tests (EasyTest) and, more recently, medical cannabis (GoEasy).
Dr. Nothelfer will be speaking in a panel session on prescription weight loss at the HBI conference in Paris in March, comparing different models for tackling obesity and the impact of GLP-1s.
Ahead of this, he gives us an insight into the GLP-1 market in Germany, Wellster’s GoLighter model (which includes nutritional advice), and business learnings from the Group, having achieved profitability in October.
Market demand in Germany
“Generally, there’s high demand for GLP-1s in Germany but unfortunately this has been very limited due to supply situations so far. They’re still patented products where there are only two [main] suppliers worldwide,” said Dr. Nothelfer.
“But now, in January 2025, this has really opened up and we feel a relief with the stock situation, and hence, more and more people have the chance to obtain it. Secondly, we see there’s not really a market anymore with the GLP-1 ‘daily pen’, Saxenda, because Novo Nordisk wasn’t serving it. But, it is going to become generic soon. We expect there will also be some trend for Liraglutide, which helps to address the market when it comes to different incomes and so on, meaning people are able to afford the medication.”
Dr. Nothelfer describes Germany as “unfortunately, a very obese nation”, citing that 16 million Germans are affected by obesity, with numbers increasing, and obesity-related costs are estimated at around €60 billion annually.
“While on the one hand there’s the need, on the other now that supply in the market is opening up, we also see there’s increasing demand as people perceive there is more supply, so are looking for these products even more than before.”
How does the Wellster model work?
“We might do it a little bit differently from other players in Europe, or maybe even beyond,” said Dr. Nothelfer. For comparison, HBI previously interviewed Bryony Henderson, Medical Director at Numan, about how it delivers its online healthcare services for weight loss drugs.
“We have specific, so-called discovery platforms for each indication (e.g. GoLighter), so we don’t mix it up with other indications. We more or less really focus on a certain target group and that means we come and address this as an expert and also want to be perceived by patients as the expert. So our clear platform GoLighter is targeting a focus group of individuals with a BMI of above 30, sometimes above 27 when it comes with certain obesity related comorbidities. We strictly excuse anyone who’s looking for some, let’s say, cosmetic related purposes when it comes to GLP-1s or other other medications here.”
In terms of the process, Dr. Nothelfer explained that when people first enter the website education is the first priority, so having them understand what it is, what can be done, and whether it’s right for them. Then there is an initial medical assessment and questionnaire about lifestyle, past weight loss efforts, medical history and current conditions. A medical doctor reviews this all and proves whether it is a medical necessity for them to have the medication or not before it’s confirmed. If it can’t be at that time, Wellster will try to support the patient to go to a regular ‘offline’ doctor.
“If a prescription is issued, it’s always along with nutritional counseling and support and behavior change. This is our medical standard — not only treatment with medication, but with a holistic approach.”
There is also follow up care, which includes regular check ins with patients. “Initially, it’s rather short term, and then it gets to a four-six week cycle to ensure proper progress, see whether any side effects need to be addressed in terms of change of medication or dosage etc, and to reinforce sustainable habit change.”
The importance of a holistic model
“While the medication may be really working, that alone is not changing the way you interact with your body and how you try to maintain your weight [to prevent the ‘yo-yo’ effect]. You have to work on these behavior changes, and therefore we need a lot of time, up to a year, so at least six months plus,” said Dr. Nothelfer.
GLP-1s help people have the time and ability to actually make these changes.
“We also have to be honest, still not everybody will make it unfortunately, but the chance is a lot higher than before without GLP-1s.”
How does Wellester/golighter ensure clinical safety?
“I think the biggest risk, actually, is that people try to cheat their way in when it comes to the reason why they want to use the medication,” said Dr. Nothelfer.
He also considers young women who may struggle with eating disorders or middle aged men who feel pressure to look a certain way in summer as groups to be mindful of.
Wellster asks for mandatory picture uploads and ID cards to match to each other, as well as to the weight indicated. “I know weight might fluctuate a little bit, but overall, you can see whether someone is 70 or 100 kilos, or 150 or 110 kilos. And we need a couple of pictures so people can’t just fake it [or try to help prevent this].
“Sometimes you have people that might be with a doctor and already in counseling and obtaining the medication, then try to change to get the medication with us, and say, ‘I want to start with a dose of 3mg, because I’m already in there’ but their BMI is already 27, and that doesn’t work for us, we wouldn’t accept them [unless perhaps with a doctor’s letter].
“We would rather miss financial opportunities to make sure the medical integrity is met here and held high.”
Dr. Nothelfer agreed this likely comes with better business outcomes in the long run anyway. “In the end, we’re talking about a young industry when it comes to telemedicine, at least in Germany, the UK is a little further down the line,” he said.
“But we’re here to stay when it comes to interaction with existing stakeholders and doctors associations. That means we have to be, and want to be, as compliant as everybody else in the existing market.”
The journey to Wellster achieving profitability in October
“When we initially started, there was no direct to patient company active in Germany, so we were the first. This meant there was some uncertainty when it came to which indication [to explore]. How do patients react? How does this affect the healthcare market?” Dr. Nothelfer explained.
“We wanted to be the third entry point, so we have the doctors, pharmacists, and then the online sector, let’s say. We initially started directly on rather high demand conditions like ED, birth control, and hair loss, and then obesity further down the road once the official GP ones were discovered in that regard.
“A very important point is that we only prescribe on label products. So no Ozempic, for example, for weight loss. There are some players, unfortunately, who still do this. So that means we had the advantage (or disadvantage) of being the first mover to build up a certain brand, also in certain indications. But you have to take risks, because you don’t know yet whether this is the right way or not.
“We were lucky that we got lots of investors and business angels who believed in us and funded us. That meant we were in a rather high growth backed business venture so we could afford a loss at the beginning to make sure we got the right indication, test a lot of stuff and then stay on a very high growth trajectory.”
He added that in the last few years a lot has changed. “First of all, we reached a certain size, and secondly more certainty came into the market. We felt like, okay, if we want to go further into more market indications, we’d rather now do it from a discovery platform first but do it from a medical perspective, so the doctors interact with the patient more,” he added.
“With ED, for example, 65% of our ED patients are within a BMI of 27 plus. So there’s a natural fallout when it comes to the doctors saying we should work on your obesity, because it also has benefits to ED, an existing indication, but also surrounding comorbidities, like cardiovascular diseases. So we grew into this, and that means we need less acquisition while maintaining certain growth levels.”
How much did GLP-1s have an impact on Wellster reaching profitability?
“In 2024 it had an impact, but not the most significant one. I think in 2025 going forward, it will be more significant. And the reason is pretty simple again, because of the lack of supply last year, it couldn’t be as large as it will be this year or in the next few years. But as the demand can now be met and the two main suppliers can deliver to Germany sufficiently, we are moving towards further goals,” Dr. Nothelfer explained.
Which indicators were the biggest contributors?
“We started with men’s health and it’s still one of the largest. But every vertical is positively contributing, so we only do profitable businesses, including GoLighter,” he added.
“In Germany, medical cannabis also grew a lot last year, and supply was less of an issue. But lots of businesses also started this and it’s even more complicated when it comes to medical processes.”
Wellster launched GoEasy, ‘a fully regulated, telemedical platform offering cannabis therapy to patients across Germany’ in 2024.
Key challenges
“I’m not a medical doctor, so I’ve less historical experience operating in the healthcare market when it comes to patient-facing activities. But I’ve worked with the board of management of an insurance company before, heading a health insurance company,” said Dr. Nothelfer.
“So we knew it works from that end, but once we had to start with advertising for patients and we had to face the regulation — and don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying advertising should be free in every direction — that was very hindering in terms of educating people about a telemedicine solution in the market.
“That’s one of our biggest barriers for even further growth. It’s totally different from other markets like the US.”
How does Wellster’s model stand out from competitors?
Dr. Nothelfer emphasised its medical integrity, with lots of players still “favouring fast prescriptions”, as well as its developed understanding of the complicated German market and regulation and the collaborative medical studies it has set up about patient safety and the best products.
Wellster is due to soon publish results from a one year study on the impact of GLP-1s on customers.
What’s next?
“Nothing is planned for now. But as for medical cannabis, I would never have thought it would come up with that speed. Obesity with GLP-1s is the same — five-six years ago, was it on the radar of people? I’m not sure,” Dr. Nothelfer mused.
“We would rather focus on internationalisation now. We now have a set we can really adapt into different markets, in combination with us as a company. Leaving Europe [regulatory wise], we don’t really have an advantage, but within the EU I would say we can easily set up, or can use our current structure to go across the board, and that’s the next step.”
We would welcome your thoughts on this story. Email your views to Hannah Millington or call 0207 183 3779.
