North America

Nurx gets another $52 million to deliver mail-order birth control, PrEP, STI test kits

Kleiner Perkins and Union Square Ventures led the Series C, which will help the company grow its offering suite and userbase.
By Jonah Comstock
01:47 pm
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Online reproductive health portal Nurx has raised $52 million in new capital. Its Series C funding accounts for $32 million of that total with an additional $20 million coming from debt financing, according to TechCrunch.The round led by Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund and Union Square Ventures with participation from the Reproductive Health Investors Alliance, Dreamers VC (actor Will Smith’s venture fund), Lowercase Capital, and Y Combinator. The round also includes both equity and debt from Triple Point Capital.

Following a $36 million Series B last year, this investment brings Nurx’s total funding to $91.3 million.

WHAT THEY DO

Nurx offers telemedicine prescription and delivery of birth control pills, with the mission of making these medications available to women in rural areas without access to reproductive healthcare as well as those who might be discouraged from seeking care by social stigmas. The company serves more than 200,000 patients and is reporting 20 percent new patient growth month over month. It’s currently available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.

The company is in the process of expanding into new areas of reproductive health including HIV prevention medication PrEP and STI test kits, which the company launched just last month.

WHAT IT’S FOR

The company has a lot of plans for this funding, including introducing additional offerings for what they describe as “sensitive health needs” and growing their userbase. Nurx is also investing in growing its team of providers and improving its telemedicine platform and user experience.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Nurx is part of a wave of young telemedicine/mail-order pharmacy companies focused on particular niche needs, especially around sensitive topics like reproductive health. These include Hims/Hers and Ro, both of which began in the men’s health space but have been branching out.

The move into STI testing also takes the company into the space of mail-order lab tests like myLabBox and Everlywell, both of which offer STI tests.

ON THE RECORD

“The typical healthcare experience is slow, confusing, and expensive and doesn’t leave people feeling empowered to make decisions about their health,” Nurx CEO Varsha Rao said in a statement. “We’re incredibly motivated by the impact we’ve made over the last few years, particularly in areas of the country where people turn to us because they don’t have any options. By focusing our efforts on health needs that often carry shame and stigma, we’re excited to reach more people and provide them with more sensitive healthcare services they need and deserve.”

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