San Francisco — Hims Launches Testosterone Therapy for Men

Hims, the telehealth company known for erectile dysfunction pills and weight-loss drugs, has launched a testosterone replacement therapy service for cisgender men, offering two injectable options and an oral pill after an at-home capillary blood test, according to WIRED. It is the company's first move into prescribing a federally controlled substance.

What is Hims actually offering?

The new service lets men take a blood test at home, then receive a prescription for testosterone if a clinician determines they qualify, WIRED reports. Patients can choose between injectable treatments or an oral pill. Peter Stahl, a urologist and senior vice president of men's health at Hims, told WIRED the company wants to "cast as wide a net, and get as many people tested, as possible."

Hims started in 2017 selling erectile dysfunction medications and has since expanded into women's health, growing into a publicly traded company that serves 2.9 million customers, per WIRED. Stahl framed testosterone therapy as evidence the platform can now handle more complicated care. "We've finally grown up," he said.

Why does testosterone require extra steps compared with other Hims drugs?

Testosterone has been a federally controlled substance since the 1990 Anabolic Steroids Control Act, WIRED notes, which changes how telehealth companies can dispense it. GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and estrogen-based hormone therapy are often prescribed after a patient fills out a written questionnaire. Testosterone is different: it requires what the industry calls "synchronous" care, meaning a patient must have a live video visit with a clinician before getting a prescription and for ongoing monitoring, according to WIRED.

That requirement exists alongside a real medical trade-off. Stahl told WIRED that "testosterone therapy can cause infertility," a risk clinicians have to walk patients through during those video visits rather than through a one-time form.

Why is testosterone suddenly a mainstream topic?

The Hims launch lands amid what WIRED describes as a cultural surge in attention to "low T," fueled by podcasters and politicians. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a mandatory testosterone deficiency screening for most male troops in the US armed services this fall, WIRED reports. In Texas, Republican candidates Ken Paxton and James Talarico have traded the phrase "low T" as an insult in a contested Senate primary race, according to the article.

Stahl told WIRED he sees testosterone deficiency as a legitimate medical condition that is "really underdiagnosed" and "really misunderstood," and argued that stigma from testosterone's history as a muscle-building supplement has kept men from seeking treatment. "That created a lot of stigma," he said, referring to the drug's association with bodybuilders after the 1990 law classified it as a controlled substance.

What does the research say about risk, and has that changed?

Older studies linked testosterone therapy to cardiovascular risks, a concern that shaped years of cautious prescribing, WIRED reports. More recent research, per the article, suggests those earlier cardiovascular-risk findings were overestimated, though WIRED does not cite a specific study or name the researchers behind the newer findings. That shift in the evidence base is part of why online clinics, including Hims, are moving into a market previously seen as higher-risk.

Who else is already selling testosterone therapy online?

Hims is not creating this market from scratch. WIRED reports the company will compete with "a wide array of online clinics" that have launched quickly in recent years using turnkey telehealth platforms, many of which market testosterone as a lifestyle or anti-aging product rather than a treatment for a diagnosed deficiency. Stahl's comments to WIRED position Hims as trying to differentiate itself on medical rigor — hence the at-home blood test and required video visits — rather than selling testosterone purely as an enhancement product.

By the numbers

• 2.9 million — customers Hims serves as a publicly traded telehealth company, per WIRED.
• 2,000 — American men surveyed this summer in Hims-commissioned research on testosterone attitudes, according to WIRED.
• 1990 — the year the Anabolic Steroids Control Act classified testosterone as a controlled substance, per the article.

The Hims-commissioned survey of those 2,000 men found they are increasingly willing to discuss testosterone treatment with each other, WIRED reports, even as stigma around taking medication for low levels persists.

For readers tracking how established tech and health platforms are expanding into new regulated categories, HTT's coverage of Meta's AI-focused subscription plans shows a similar pattern of consumer platforms layering new paid services onto an existing customer base.

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