Hims & Hers CEO: Women's health business "will likely" eclipse men's
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The future of Hims & Hers — a digital-first health platform that offers content, telehealth and drug treatments related to skin care, sexual performance and mental health — may be more hers than hims.
Why it matters: An intensifying focus on women's health in the U.S. has emerged since the overturn of Roe, including an executive order for more research and new investments flowing into areas including menopause, maternal and postpartum care and pain treatment.
Between the lines: "For the most part, the existing health care system — for better or worse, and mostly worse — was built by men, for men," Hims & Hers co-founder and CEO Andrew Dudum told Axios on Tuesday in an interview for the "Leading Indicator" show from Public, an investing platform.
- Women's health care in the U.S. has been underfunded and neglected despite women outnumbering men since 1946.
- But there's "a really huge opportunity" to serve women with health care services around menopause, hormonal balance and dermatology, Dudum says.
Zoom in: There were nearly 1.9 million subscribers of the Hims & Hers platform as of the second quarter, the company announced this week.
- Known initially for selling erectile dysfunction medication, oral hygiene and skin care products to men, Hims launched its first women's wellness products for hair loss, beauty and sexual wellness in 2018 under a new "Hers" brand.
The Hers business encompasses "some of the fastest-growing categories under the hood" of the company, such as weight loss, dermatology and mental health, said Dudum.
- "Long term, I think the women's business will likely eclipse the Hims business."
Friction point: Hims & Hers prides itself on offering personalized prescriptions and care based in part on digital questionnaires that some have viewed as inadequate.
Our thought bubble: If Dudum is serious about building more products and services for women, it would make sense to involve more women leaders at the top. Melissa Baird, the company's COO and most tenured employee besides Dudum, was described as a key part of how Hims & Hers is building its platform.
The bottom line: Women's health tech has been heating up in private markets, So if the composition of Hims & Hers' products and customers is shifting, the pivots may have to happen quickly.
Disclosure: The reporter was a paid moderator for Public for the Hims & Hers conversation.
