Hims & Hers Health, a telehealth service for clients to access healthcare and prescriptions from home, is seeing its stock take a steep dive on Thursday, just after Amazon announced updates to a strikingly similar service for Prime members.
Hims stock was down by more than 21% during midday trading.
Amazon detailed the updates to its current telehealth offerings in a blog post. “Prime members can see the low total monthly cost or per-use cost for the Amazon One Medical Pay-per-visit virtual visit as well as the medications from Amazon Pharmacy relating to their desired treatment, prior to beginning care,” it reads. “Once Prime members have their treatment plan, they can conveniently order their medication from Amazon Pharmacy in just a couple of clicks.”
Prime members can get prescriptions on around 30 common issues. Some of those include anti-aging skincare treatment, which starts at around $10/monthly, treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED) at $19/monthly, hair-loss treatment and prevention at $43/monthly, as well as medications for conditions like pink eye and sinus infections. Members get the competitive pricing by using Amazon’s savings benefit “Prime Rx” at checkout.
Amazon touted its low-cost treatment for addressing many common conditions in Thursday’s post, writing, “For comparison, Prime members save up to 92% on ED treatment versus popular subscription service alternatives.”
Meanwhile, Hims & Hers has seen its stock see-saw this year. Shares more than doubled once the company started offering compounded GLP-1 weight-loss injections, capitalizing on a national shortage. But shares fell nearly 10% last month after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed Eli Lilly’s obesity and diabetes drugs from the medication shortage list.
Analysts say that Amazon’s expansion of its telehealth services could pose more problems for Hims & Hers, whose pricing isn’t nearly as competitive.
Citi analyst Daniel Grosslight told Reuters that given shares of Hims & Hers shot up after the company started offering compounded GLP-1 weight-loss injections, the company will need to lean into those treatments moving forward. On Thursday, the brand sent out a mass email to those who subscribe to its promotions advertising a “free online assessment for weight loss.”
For Amazon, whose online pharmacy launched in November 2020, the expanded services mark a new chapter in healthcare. While the company has repeatedly attempted to break into the market, several efforts have folded: In the past, Amazon introduced a telehealth service called Amazon Care, as well as a line of health and wellness devices, both of which were closed down. And on Wednesday, Amazon shut down a secret project to develop its own fertility tracker. Around 100 employees involved in the project were laid off as a result.