The Pill Club, a California-based startup that delivers birth control on demand (along with “chocolate and sample gift items”), raised $51m.
Along with several other birth control delivery startups, The Pill Club wants to eliminate ‘contraceptive deserts.’
What are ‘contraceptive deserts?’
Of the 67m women between the ages of 13 and 44 in the US, 19m live in so-called contraceptive deserts — areas without easy access to public clinics that provide birth control.
Along with other women’s health companies such as Nurx, Maven, and Lemonaid, The Pill Club is working to expand birth control access, but their efforts are often frustrated by pharmacies influenced by local doctors, lawyers, and insurers.
So, to reduce the number of barriers to access, The Pill Club decided to bring its pharmacy in-house.
‘Pharm to mailbox’
It’s like ‘farm to table’ except, you know, with birth control drugs…
Unlike many of its birth control delivery competitors, The Pill Club prescribes birth control from its own in-house pharmacy so women don’t have to crack skulls at local pharmacies to get it (competitor Nurx has also rolled out a similar in-house pharmacy in addition to other women’s health products such as a Home HPV Test).
It works in some places, but not everywhere: According to The Pill Club’s site, it can dispense birth control all 50 states, but it can only prescribe it in 34 states (and DC).
But, with funding that now totals $67.2m, The Pill Club plans to ultimately expand its prescription to all 50 states and roll out new health products for its customers.
Update: This post has been updated with information provided to The Hustle by competing birth control delivery service, Nurx, which also offers in-house prescriptions.
