Startups that are selling sexual health drugs and hair loss medications have upended the way drugs are sold online and their customers are paying heavily marked-up prices.
Two of the most popular startups, Hims (www.forhims.com) and Roman (getroman.com), sell hair loss medications and male enhancement pills online.
At Roman, per pill of 10 mg sildenafil (Viagra) costs $2, while Hims charges $3 per pill. According to a federal survey, these Viagra pills are sold to pharmacies for about 15 cents and patients can find those pills at some regular pharmacies through online discount programs for as little as 41 cents per pill.
Some customers do not care what they are paying. For instance, a 28-year-old Newport Beach salesman Dylan Nelson had hair loss problem and it was an ad from Hims that convinced him to try Generic Propecia, a medicine that contains finasteride.
Hims charges $28.50 for a monthly supply of Generic Propecia, along with a $5 fee for an online doctor visit. This generic hair loss medication can be bought for half the price elsewhere.
Nelson said, “I know you can get it cheaper through other sources. But I’m willing to pay more for convenience.”
The founders of Rx Savings Solutions Michael Rea said, “Patients who like the sites’ ease may not realize they could have gotten better deals.” Rx Savings Solutions is an app that offers a cost-saving solution for purchasing prescription drugs.
Rea added, “The average consumer is not going around looking at six different websites and comparing costs. They might never know they could have gotten it for five bucks.”
At Hims, Nelson pays 95 cents per pill for his monthly finasteride prescription, along with the cost of an initial doctor’s consultation. However, at GoodRX, an online pharmacy, he can buy those pill for as less than half of what he pays now.
Chief Executive Officer of Hims Andrew Dudum explained that that price is not the only concern for patients. He said, “Aside from the convenience and costs saved by not having to travel to the doctor or pharmacy, you gain access to a personalized consultation with a physician.”
Pfizer that sells Viagra and Merck & Co. that sells Propecia have spent millions of dollars on convincing that men needed the drugs for treating erectile dysfunction and androgenic alopecia, respectively.
In 2017, just before a few months of patent expiration, Viagra 100mg cost $61.54 per pill. And in 2013, Propecia 1 mg cost $2.51 per pill. Once they went generic, the companies stopped spending money on marketing and branding. The startups stepped in and started rebuilding the brand and the price.
At the same time, the startups have also faced several questions about some of their practices, especially when it comes to promoting prescription drugs for off-label uses. For instance, Hims advertises an antidepressant drug (sertraline) for premature ejaculation and a blood pressure drug (propranolol) to combat stage fright. And neither of them has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Also, patients are taking advantages of low-cost online doctor consultations offered by Hims and Roman.
Many investors have shoveled money at these startups. According to PitchBook, in January, after a new fundraising round, Hims was valued at about $1 billion, while Roman raised $85 million last month, valuing the company at $500 million. Their success has also attracted other competitors. For instance, a drug-discount startup, Blink Health, pitches low prices on generic medications. It recently added a men’s health telemedicine providing that undercuts Hims and Roman, charging just $6.95 for 10 sildenafil pills and $8.95 for a month’s supply of Generic Propecia.
