Nurx Secures $52 Million to Expand Access to Sensitive Health Needs

The leading online provider for contraception builds on momentum with patient growth and new healthcare services, including STI home testing

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Nurx

Aug 15, 2019, 09:16 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Nurx, the health tech company providing convenient and affordable care for sensitive health needs, today announced it has raised an additional $52 million in funding. The Series C round was led by Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund and Union Square Ventures with participation from Reproductive Health Investors Alliance, Dreamers VC, Lowercase Capital, and Y Combinator, as well as Triple Point Capital for equity and debt. The leading online provider for contraception will use the funds to introduce more services for sensitive health needs as well as grow its patient community to reach more people who face systemic barriers to healthcare. Nurx will also focus on expanding its medical provider team as well as investing in its telemedicine platform to continue improving and streamlining the patient experience. Kleiner Perkins Growth led the company's Series B and this investment is from its digital growth fund.

Nurx provides more than 200,000 current patients across the country with high-quality care for
sensitive health needs that can often carry shame and stigma, and can be met with judgement.
The company has provided birth control to more than 400,000 women since the company was
founded. Nurx is seeing 20% new patient growth month over month, with the greatest
concentration in southern states where over 40% of Nurx's patients reside. Over the last year
the company has launched in nine new states and is now available to 85 percent of the U.S.
population. Considering nearly 20 million women in the U.S. live in areas without reasonable
access to contraceptive care*, Nurx remains committed to expanding its impact and reaching
women whose reproductive health needs are not being met by the traditional healthcare system.

Over the last year the company has focused on offering additional sensitive healthcare services
that address public health epidemics. Nurx introduced STI home test kits last month and has
already provided more than one thousand patients with information about their STI status.
Additionally, thousands of women have chosen Nurx for affordable and convenient cervical
cancer screening using its HPV home test, and more than 80% of them also trust Nurx for their
contraception needs. As with all of its healthcare services, the company is committed to
providing its patients with transparent and affordable pricing by accepting health insurance and
offering cost-effective options for those who are uninsured.

"The typical healthcare experience is slow, confusing, and expensive and doesn't leave people
feeling empowered to make decisions about their health," said Nurx CEO Varsha Rao. "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."

As part of its sensitive healthcare offerings, Nurx also offers HIV prevention medication,
providing PrEP to more than 6,000 patients across the country. Nurx is the only company that
allows patients to consult with a provider to determine if PrEP is right for them, complete the
necessary lab work with its PrEP home test kit, receive and fill the prescription, and have PrEP
delivered straight to their door - all without needing to visit a physical health center. Nurx also
connects its patients with the company's PrEP navigator team to assist with insurance coverage
and payment assistance programs, ensuring the majority of Nurx patients have affordable
access to what can be a prohibitively expensive medication.

Over the last year Nurx has hired hundreds of employees across its operations, legal and
compliance, engineering, marketing, pharmacy, and customer service teams to rapidly scale
and grow the company. Women make up more than half of Nurx's leadership team, which has
expanded over the last year to include highly seasoned and experienced executives across
nearly every department. Varsha Rao, who was an early investor in Nurx, joined the team a few
months ago as CEO after having previously served as COO of Clover Health and Head of
Global Operations at Airbnb. The company also welcomed public health leader Chelsea Clinton
and Former U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA to its board of directors.

"Nurx has grown tremendously over the last year, establishing itself as the leading online
service for birth control and building a world-class leadership team," said Noah Knauf, General
Partner at Kleiner Perkins Digital Growth Fund and co-founder of Bond. "We're excited to
support the Nurx team as it continues to expand its sensitive health offerings and reach more
people whose needs aren't being met by the current healthcare system."

Nurx's technology platform connects medical providers and pharmacies directly to patients in a
single app, enabling a patient-centered, efficient, transparent, and cost-effective way to deliver
high-quality care that eliminates many of the access barriers to healthcare. Nurx eliminates the
average wait time of 24 days to find an available doctor's appointment**, as well as the average
two hours Americans spend driving to a doctor's office, sitting in the waiting room, and filling out
forms for a limited amount of face-to-face time with the doctor.***

"The Nurx platform has allowed the company to connect hundreds of thousands of people with
its medical team by tackling many of the common barriers people face when trying to access
healthcare," said Andy Weissman, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures. "Our
investment in the Series C round mirrors our conviction in the Nurx team to make an even larger
impact on public health needs."

After a patient shares their health history through the Nurx app, their Nurx medical provider will
consult with the patient regarding their request within 1-2 days while the Nurx platform checks
their insurance. If approved by their Nurx provider, medication and home testing kits arrive in
discreet packaging at the patient's home within 3-5 days. After their initial consultation or exam,
Nurx patients also have unlimited access to their provider for one year, allowing them to ask as
many questions about their health condition as they'd like. Nurx is available in 26 states and the
District of Columbia, encompassing more than 85 percent of the U.S. population.

About Nurx
Nurx is a health tech company providing convenient, affordable, and personalized care for
sensitive health needs. By reimagining the healthcare experience, Nurx offers patients
transparent pricing and judgement-free care whenever and wherever works best for them. We
believe everyone should have the freedom to live well and be in charge of their healthcare
decisions, regardless of their circumstances. From diagnosis to delivery, we make every part of
getting healthy and staying healthy, better.

Sources
* Power to Decide
** Merritt Hawkins
*** Harvard Medical School

Media Contact
Allison Berry
Communications Lead
[email protected]
(650) 799 2676

SOURCE Nurx