Episode 60: Hims & Hers

In this episode of Petri Dish Perspectives, we dive into the rise of Hims & Hers Health, the telehealth company that transformed direct-to-consumer healthcare and challenged traditional medicine. Founded in 2017 by Andrew Dudum, Hims & Hers built a billion-dollar business by removing the stigma around men's and women's health, using digital-first care, subscription medicine, and aggressive branding to reach millions of patients.

We explore the company's founding story, rapid growth, SPAC-era public debut, expansion into mental health, dermatology, weight loss, and primary care, as well as the controversies surrounding compounded GLP-1 medications, regulatory scrutiny, and the broader debate around the future of telemedicine.

From Silicon Valley startup to healthcare disruptor, Hims & Hers offers a fascinating case study in consumerization, accessibility, and the changing relationship between patients and providers.

🎧 Listen now, stay curious, and don’t forget to subscribe for new episodes every Thursday!

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Transcript

Hello and welcome to Petri Dish Perspectives, the podcast where we geek out about science and the companies shaping the future of healthcare. I’m your host, Manead, and I’m a PhD scientist by training, storyteller by choice. With every new episode released on Thursday, my goal is to deliver digestible pieces of information on healthcare companies under 30 mins. 

For decades, healthcare has operated under a simple assumption: patients would adapt to the healthcare system. If you needed treatment, you found a physician, scheduled an appointment weeks in advance, sat in a waiting room, discussed your concerns, visited a pharmacy, and hopefully followed through with your treatment plan. The system wasn't designed around convenience; it was designed around institutions.

Then a new generation of technology companies began asking a different question: what if healthcare adapted to patients instead?

Few companies embody that shift more than Hims & Hers Health. What started in 2017 as an online platform selling treatments for erectile dysfunction and hair loss has evolved into one of the most recognizable digital healthcare brands in the United States. Along the way, the company has expanded into mental health, dermatology, sexual wellness, primary care, and weight management while building a business model that looks more like Amazon or Apple than a traditional healthcare provider.

Supporters see Hims & Hers as a pioneer democratizing access to healthcare. Critics see a Silicon Valley company attempting to simplify a system that is inherently complex. Investors see one of the fastest-growing healthcare businesses of the past decade. Regulators see a test case for how telemedicine should function in the modern era.

Regardless of where one stands, Hims & Hers represents a fundamental shift in how healthcare is delivered, marketed, and consumed. The company's story is not simply about telehealth. It is about the collision of technology, healthcare, consumer behavior, and one of the most powerful forces in modern business: convenience.

Quick disclaimer, I give full credit to the original articles cited in the references in the transcript!

Grab a coffee or tea, settle in, and let’s jump in!

The Founding Story: Solving Problems Nobody Wanted to Discuss

The origins of Hims & Hers can be traced back to a simple observation made by founder Andrew Dudum. Millions of Americans were struggling with highly treatable conditions, yet many never sought care. The barriers weren't necessarily scientific or medical. Treatments existed. Physicians existed. Pharmacies existed.

The problem was often emotional.

Hair loss, erectile dysfunction, anxiety, depression, acne, and sexual health concerns occupy a unique place in healthcare. They are incredibly common conditions, yet many patients feel embarrassed discussing them. Scheduling an appointment, sitting in a waiting room, and having a face-to-face conversation about sensitive topics created friction that prevented many people from seeking treatment.

Dudum recognized that healthcare was facing a user experience problem. Consumers were increasingly accustomed to services that could be accessed instantly through smartphones. Transportation had Uber. Shopping had Amazon. Entertainment had Netflix. Yet healthcare remained trapped in a model that often required multiple appointments, paperwork, and logistical hurdles before a patient could receive treatment.

In 2017, Hims launched with a focus on men's health. The company offered online consultations with licensed healthcare providers and direct-to-consumer delivery of medications for conditions such as erectile dysfunction and hair loss. The response was immediate. Patients embraced the convenience and privacy of the model. Within a year, the company expanded into women's health and adopted the name Hims & Hers.

The company was not inventing new medicines. Instead, it was reimagining how patients accessed existing ones. That distinction would become one of the defining characteristics of the business.

Building a Brand in a World of Bland Healthcare

One of the most remarkable aspects of Hims & Hers is that it succeeded in doing something healthcare companies rarely achieve: building a recognizable consumer brand.

Traditional healthcare companies rarely market directly to patients. Hospitals market locally. Pharmaceutical companies market to physicians. Insurers market during enrollment periods. Most healthcare brands are built around necessity rather than aspiration.

Hims & Hers approached the problem differently.

The company borrowed heavily from consumer technology and lifestyle brands. Its marketing emphasized accessibility, self-improvement, and empowerment rather than illness or disease. Its packaging was sleek and minimalist. Its website looked more like a direct-to-consumer startup than a healthcare provider.

This approach helped remove some of the stigma associated with seeking treatment. Instead of framing conditions like hair loss or erectile dysfunction as medical problems, Hims & Hers framed them as solvable challenges that millions of people experience.

This distinction may seem subtle, but it was enormously powerful. The company transformed healthcare from something reactive into something proactive. It positioned treatment not as a response to illness but as an investment in personal well-being.

As a result, Hims & Hers attracted younger consumers who might never have interacted with the healthcare system in a traditional setting.

The COVID-19 Catalyst

Like many digital health companies, Hims & Hers experienced a dramatic acceleration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before 2020, telehealth occupied a relatively small corner of the healthcare industry. Adoption was growing, but regulatory barriers and physician skepticism limited its reach. Then the pandemic forced healthcare providers across the world to embrace remote care almost overnight.

Patients who once preferred in-person visits suddenly found themselves relying on virtual consultations. Regulators temporarily relaxed certain restrictions. Physicians became more comfortable practicing remotely. Consumers became more comfortable receiving care through digital platforms.

Hims & Hers found itself perfectly positioned.

While many healthcare organizations were scrambling to develop telehealth capabilities, Hims & Hers already possessed the infrastructure, technology, and operational expertise necessary to scale rapidly. Patient adoption accelerated dramatically. Revenue climbed. Investor interest surged.

In January 2021, the company entered public markets through a SPAC transaction, with Oaktree Acquisition Corp. The company debuted at $17.13 per share and raised approximately $280 million in total proceeds.This total funding was composed of $205 million in cash from Oaktree's trust account and $75 million from a private placement (PIPE) of common stock priced at $10 per share, backed by institutional investors like Franklin Templeton. The transaction gave the telehealth company an implied enterprise value of about $1.6 billion.

The public listing provided capital to expand into new categories while also placing the company under the intense scrutiny that comes with being publicly traded.

The pandemic did not create the demand for telehealth, but it dramatically accelerated its adoption. Hims & Hers was one of the biggest beneficiaries of that shift.

Expanding Beyond Hair Loss and Erectile Dysfunction

As the company matured, management understood that long-term success would require expanding beyond its original categories.

The initial products served as customer acquisition tools, but the larger vision was far more ambitious. Hims & Hers wanted to become a comprehensive healthcare platform capable of managing multiple aspects of a patient's health journey.

Mental health became one of the earliest areas of expansion. The company introduced treatments for anxiety and depression, tapping into a massive market where access to care remained limited. Dermatology followed, allowing patients to receive treatment for acne and other skin conditions through virtual consultations.

Women's health services expanded significantly, covering issues ranging from contraception to sexual wellness. The company also moved into primary care and preventive health services, positioning itself as a broader healthcare destination rather than a niche telemedicine provider.

This evolution reflected a larger strategic shift. Hims & Hers was no longer simply selling medications. It was attempting to own the patient relationship. Every new service increased engagement, improved retention, and expanded lifetime customer value.

In many ways, the company was building a vertically integrated healthcare ecosystem centered around convenience and digital access.

The GLP-1 Revolution and the Weight Loss Opportunity

The most transformative opportunity in the company's history arrived through obesity medicine.

The emergence of GLP-1 therapies fundamentally changed the pharmaceutical landscape. Drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound demonstrated unprecedented efficacy in weight management and quickly became some of the most sought-after medications in the world.

Demand exploded far faster than supply.

Patients faced long waitlists, insurance barriers, and high out-of-pocket costs. Many were eager to find alternative pathways to treatment.

Hims & Hers moved aggressively into weight management, leveraging its telehealth infrastructure to connect patients with obesity treatment programs. The category rapidly became one of the company's most important growth drivers.

Investors recognized the potential almost immediately. Obesity represents one of the largest healthcare markets globally, and telehealth provides a natural mechanism for managing long-term treatment and patient monitoring.

The company's expansion into weight management transformed the narrative surrounding Hims & Hers. It was no longer viewed merely as a company focused on sensitive lifestyle conditions. It became a participant in one of the largest pharmaceutical opportunities of the decade.

Criticism and Controversies

No discussion of Hims & Hers would be complete without addressing the controversies surrounding its rapid growth.

The most significant debates have centered on compounded GLP-1 medications. As shortages affected branded obesity drugs, telehealth companies increasingly explored compounded alternatives as a way to expand patient access.

Supporters argued that these efforts helped patients obtain treatments during periods of limited availability. Critics questioned whether telehealth companies were moving too aggressively into complex areas of medicine that required careful oversight.

More broadly, critics have raised concerns about the commercialization of healthcare. Some argue that healthcare decisions should never resemble e-commerce transactions. Others worry that direct-to-consumer marketing may oversimplify medical decision-making or encourage treatment seeking without adequate clinical evaluation.

Hims & Hers has consistently emphasized that prescriptions are issued by licensed healthcare providers and that patient safety remains a priority. Nevertheless, the company remains a focal point in broader discussions about telehealth regulation and the future boundaries of digital medicine.

The turbulent relationship between Novo Nordisk and the telehealth platform Hims & Hers represents a high-stakes corporate battle over the multi-billion-dollar weight-loss drug market. The conflict began when severe, years-long supply shortages of Novo’s blockbuster GLP-1 drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, prompted the FDA to permit compounding pharmacies to create customized, off-brand versions of semaglutide. Capitalizing on this regulatory loophole, Hims & Hers began offering highly popular, lower-cost compounded alternatives. Hoping to steer these patients toward authentic products, Novo Nordisk entered a brief partnership with Hims & Hers in April 2025 to expand patient access to branded Wegovy. However, the collaboration collapsed just eight weeks later in June 2025 when Novo abruptly terminated the deal, accusing the telehealth company of deceptive promotion and continuing to sell unapproved knockoffs even after the FDA ruled that the drug shortage had officially ended. 

The feud escalated dramatically into early 2026 when Hims & Hers announced plans to launch a daily compounded semaglutide pill. Novo Nordisk immediately responded by filing a major patent infringement lawsuit against the company, while the FDA simultaneously issued a stern warning regarding Hims' marketing practices, forcing the platform to cancel its pill rollout. Rather than engaging in a prolonged courtroom battle, the two former adversaries reached a comprehensive settlement and collaboration agreement in March 2026. Under the terms of the deal, Novo Nordisk dropped its lawsuit, and Hims & Hers agreed to permanently stop advertising compounded GLP-1 drugs. In return, Hims & Hers transitioned to selling only authentic, FDA-approved injectable and oral versions of Novo's Ozempic and Wegovy at standard cash prices, a strategic pivot that ultimately caused Hims & Hers shares to surge.

Lessons from Hims & Hers

The story of Hims & Hers offers several important lessons.

First, convenience is often undervalued as an innovation. The company did not discover a new drug or invent a groundbreaking medical device. Instead, it reduced friction between patients and treatment. That alone created enormous value.

Second, healthcare is increasingly becoming a consumer-driven industry. Patients now expect the same level of convenience, transparency, and personalization they receive from other digital services.

Third, distribution matters. Pharmaceutical innovation remains critical, but companies that control patient relationships increasingly hold significant strategic advantages.

Finally, Hims & Hers demonstrates that healthcare and technology are converging rapidly. The future healthcare leaders may not look like traditional hospitals, insurers, or pharmaceutical companies. They may look like technology platforms that happen to deliver healthcare.

What's Next for Hims & Hers?

As of 2026, Hims & Hers stands at an important crossroads.

The company has successfully established itself as one of the leading consumer healthcare platforms in the United States. The question now is whether it can evolve into a long-term healthcare ecosystem.

Future growth opportunities include expanded primary care services, personalized medicine, diagnostics, laboratory testing, chronic disease management, and artificial intelligence-driven patient support.

At the same time, competition is intensifying. Healthcare systems are investing heavily in telehealth. Retail healthcare continues to expand. Regulatory oversight is increasing. Large technology companies continue exploring healthcare opportunities.

The next chapter will determine whether Hims & Hers becomes the Amazon of healthcare or remains a successful but specialized telehealth provider.

Outro: The Consumerization of Healthcare

The story of Hims & Hers is ultimately a story about changing expectations.

For decades, patients accepted inconvenience as part of healthcare. Long waits, complicated processes, and fragmented experiences were viewed as unavoidable realities.

Hims & Hers challenged that assumption.

By treating healthcare like a consumer product, the company exposed how much friction existed within the traditional system. Whether one views that disruption positively or negatively, it has unquestionably influenced how healthcare is delivered today.

In many ways, the company's greatest innovation was not a drug, a platform, or a technology. It was convincing millions of people that accessing healthcare could be as simple as ordering something online.

And in an industry built around complexity, simplicity may prove to be one of the most disruptive forces of all.

This has been Petri Dish Perspectives. I’m Manead. Thanks for listening. See you next Thursday. Good bye.

References

1. https://www.hims.com/ 
2. www.wikipedia.org
3. https://endpoints.news/ 
4. https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home.html 
5. https://finance.yahoo.com/ 

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