A worker delivers Amazon packages in San Francisco on October 24, 2024.
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Amazon It announced Thursday that Prime members can access new fixed prices for treating conditions like erectile dysfunction and hair loss in men, its latest effort to compete with other direct-to-consumer markets such as Himes and hers health And ru.
Hims & Hers shares fell as much as 22% on Thursday, on pace for their worst day.
Prime members can see how much a telehealth visit and desired treatment will cost before they decide to continue care for five common problems, Amazon said in a blog post. Patients can receive an anti-aging skin care treatment starting at $10 per month; Motion Sickness for $2 per use; Erectile dysfunction at $19 a month; Eyelash Growth for $43 per month and Men's Hair Loss for $16 per month with Amazon Prime Rx savings at checkout.
Amazon acquired primary care provider One Medical for roughly $3.9 billion in July 2022, and Thursday's announcement builds on its pay-per-visit telehealth offering. Video visits through the service cost $49, and messaging visits cost $29 when available. Users can get treatment for more than 30 common conditions, including sinusitis and pink eye.
Medications dispensed through Amazon Pharmacy are eligible for discounted prices and will be delivered to patients' doors in standard Amazon packaging. Prime members will pay for counseling and medications, but there are no additional fees, the blog post said.
Analysts at Bank of America downgraded Hims & Hers shares from buy to underperform on Thursday, citing Amazon's push into the hair loss and erectile dysfunction markets. Analysts said Hims & Hers generates gross profit margins of more than 80% on its core erectile dysfunction and hair loss offerings, and they estimate that Amazon's drugs for these conditions are about 42% and 29% cheaper, respectively.
As a result, analysts said they believe Amazon will limit the prices Hims & Hers can charge and hamper the company's ability to attract new customers.
“While Amazon may not offer the same personalized products, its extensive network (we estimate 150 million Americans have Prime) creates a serious competitive threat to HIMS, in our view,” they wrote in a note Thursday.
Amazon has been trying to break into the lucrative healthcare sector for years. The company launched its own online pharmacy in 2020 after acquiring PillPack in 2018. Amazon introduced, and later closed, a telehealth service called Amazon Care, as well as a range of health and wellness devices.
The company also halted a secret effort to develop an at-home fertility tracker, CNBC reported on Wednesday.
— CNBC's Annie Palmer contributed to this report.
