Online men's health platform Hims closes $50M funding round

By Laura Lovett
11:50 am
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Hims has recently gained a lot of traction for its business of discretely sending men’s health products and medications through the mail, and as of last week the San Francisco-based startup landed another $50 million in funding. According to Bloomberg, which first reported the funding, the money will be put towards growing its prescription drug business. 

Instead of going to a doctor to get a prescription for hair loss and erectile dysfunction products, customers can go through Hims' online platform. In order to get a prescription, customers fill out a digital assessment on the website that a network of doctors uses to assess specific needs. The company's platform also includes a telemedicine component. 

According to its website, Hims works with mail order pharmacies as a way to secure the lowest price on a package deal. 

Right now the company offers a number of products including a cold sore kit, which consists of the antiviral suppressive Valacyclovir; multiple hair loss products; erectile dysfunction medications; and, coming this month, an anti-aging cream. 

The idea is to make it less expensive and more accessible for men to access these types of self-care products. The platform gives an overview of multiple treatment plans that pinpoint different conditions. 

“For whatever reason, us guys are allergic to doctors. So we made it easy. Like stupid easy,” Andrew Dudum, founder and CEO, wrote in a letter on the website. “Within minutes a doctor can prescribe you the stuff you need and ship it overnight. Simple as that. No doctor's appointment. No waiting rooms. No awkward conversations. Oh, and while these products usually cost $100 to $300 per month at the big guys, we changed that. At Hims, we cut that price in half. And then we slashed it in half again.”

The platform is still fairly young, originally launching in November 2017. So far the company has raked in $57 million in funding, according to Crunchbase. 

Hims is backed by investor IVP, who has invested in other big consumer-facing products like Netflix and Snapchat. 

This funding announcement comes at a time when mail order prescriptions are hot in the news. On Thursday Amazon announced that it was acquiring virtual pharmacy PillPack, opening the door for the online retailer to get into the online prescription drug business. 

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