Not many drug-makers rely on social media influencers to drum up business. PureTech, however, is one of them.
The maker of a treatment for obesity — patients can reduce hunger by swallowing a medicine that swells up to fill the stomach and small intestines — said last month that it would pep up consumer demand using influencers. It would also deliver the pill, Plenity, by post, hoping to create an “Amazon-like experience”.
Massachusetts-based PureTech is listed in London and is a constituent of the FTSE 250. Along with its weight-loss medication, it produces treatments for a wide range of conditions, from cancer to hair loss.
PureTech uses a “portfolio” approach. It has spun out some of its technologies into separate companies with other investors as