Nurx

Nurx is a health technology company based in San Francisco that provides online medical consultations and home delivery of prescription treatments, with a focus on women's health. Patients complete an online medical consultation covering health history and goals; a provider licensed in the patient's state reviews the intake and prescribes treatment if clinically appropriate; the prescription is then shipped to the patient's home with free shipping, automatic refills, and the option to pause or cancel. Patients also have unlimited messaging access to providers for follow-up and monitoring.

The service spans birth control and emergency contraception (50+ formulas including the pill, patch, ring, and shot), menopause care including prescription hormone replacement therapy where appropriate, weight management with injectable GLP-1 and oral options plus required check-ins, dermatology (acne, anti-aging, melasma, rosacea, eyelash growth), hair concerns (women's hair loss, dandruff), mental health medication management (anxiety, depression, seasonal affective disorder, postpartum depression, insomnia, PMDD, OCD, social anxiety, PTSD), herpes treatment and prevention for genital herpes and cold sores, and general health conditions such as bacterial vaginosis, vaginitis, yeast infection, UTI, and migraine. The company states access to more than 150 prescription treatment options and notes that Nurx does not provide talk therapy or crisis management, and that services are not offered in every state.

At launch the product was a web-based birth control delivery app, initially available to women in California, with prescriptions filled and delivered within 48 hours and same-day delivery in some markets; the service also offered PrEP (Truvada) for HIV prevention. Its clinical team includes doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and pharmacists, and the company distributes a consumer mobile app via the App Store.

Founding story

Nurx was founded by Hans Gangeskar, who served as CEO, and Dr. Edvard Engesaeth, a medical doctor. The founders argued that while birth control is available without a prescription in more than 100 countries, the U.S. process was burdensome, and that easier, more affordable access increases use; the Nurx app launched in December 2015 as a birth control delivery service in California.

Business model

Direct-to-consumer telehealth: patients pay for online medical consultations and prescription medications delivered to the home, with insurance accepted for some medications and cash-pay pricing for uninsured patients. Recurring shipments (for example three-month birth control supplies with automatic refills) support a subscription-like relationship, and some categories are FSA/HSA eligible.

Revenue comes from consultation and treatment fees plus prescription medication sales, billed either through insurance (where some medications may cost the patient $0 or a copay) or out of pocket at listed cash prices, such as generic birth control from about $15 per pill pack, the ring from about $150, the patch from about $50 per month, and emergency contraception from about $45 per pill.

Traction

The company reports more than 2 million patients served, more than 16 million birth control prescriptions issued, over 92% of birth control patients ordering again, and 26,691+ reviews averaging 4.7-4.8.

Latest developments

Current offerings highlighted by the company include weight management treatment (injectable GLP-1 and oral options) advertised as low as $0 with insurance, menopause care with prescription HRT where clinically appropriate, and expanded dermatology, hair loss, and general health categories such as UTI, bacterial vaginosis, vaginitis, yeast infection, and migraine with home delivery or local pickup.