The Pill Club, an online prescription and at-home delivery service for contraception, has raised $51 million — including an investment from Alphabet's venture capital arm — to expand its business.
The Pill Club comprises a team of physicians, nurses and patient care coordinators who work to bring women's healthcare services to patients across the U.S., including prescribing medications in 35 states and delivering to all 50.
The startup, which includes its own licensed pharmacy, offers multiple brands of the birth control pill, emergency contraceptives and the NuvaRing. Nick Chang, MD, founder and CEO of The Pill Club, told TechCrunch one of his inspirations behind the startup was growing up with a sister.
"I [grew] up with an older sister who was on birth control since she was 14 for menstrual regulation," he said. "She really felt embarrassed to pick up the medication and to talk to anyone about it and that was really insightful for me. There are so many hurdles in accessing birth control besides clinics being around."
The startup's $51-million Series B funding round was led by private equity firm VMG Partners with participation from new investors, including Alphabet's GV and investment adviser ACME Capital. The Pill Club — which has raised $67 million since its launch in 2016 — plans to use the new funding to expand its prescription services and scale its workforce, according to Dr. Chang.