The fastest $500M deal in digital health

Hey Health Techies!

Most startups spend their first few years just trying to survive. Remedy Meds? They sprinted from launch to a $500M acquisition of Thirty Madison in under two years.

This week the digital health world was pretty shocked by the news of a relatively unknown company (Remedy Meds) buying a pretty large powerhouse in the space (Thirty Madison).

How? A mix of timing and focus seems to have done the trick. Let’s unpack how they pulled this off.

The fast-track formula

1. Right place, right time
   Something that doesn’t get mentioned enough when it comes to startup success? Timing is everything. Remedy launched in the sweet spot of the GLP-1 boom—when consumer demand for metabolic health solutions was surging and payers were still figuring out coverage. They filled the gap fast, attracting customers eager for access to meds like Wegovy and Zepbound.

2. Lean but profitable
   Unlike peers burning through venture cash, Remedy seemed to be laser focused on profitability from the start. By prioritizing profitable margins and patient lifetime value (LTV), they built a business that looked IPO-ready almost out of the gate, giving them credibility with both investors and potential targets.

3. Acquisition over imitation
   Instead of spending years building competing verticals (like a women’s health or migraine brand), Remedy bought them in one swoop. Thirty Madison’s portfolio—Nurx, Cove, Keeps—gave Remedy instant diversification, proven patient acquisition funnels, and brand recognition.

Why it matters
This wasn’t luck. It was clearly strategy. Remedy has shown how speed and profitability can leapfrog a startup into the top tier of direct to consumer healthcare almost overnight. For clinicians and operators, the lesson is clear: growth doesn’t always mean scaling one brick at a time. Speed matters. Profitability matters.

In a capitalist economy, the company with the best product doesn’t always win—the company that prioritizes distribution does. Thirty Madison already had trusted consumer brands (Nurx, Keeps, Cove) with millions of patients flowing through their funnels. Remedy Meds could have spent years trying to outbuild them—but instead, they acquired the distribution outright.

It’s not that Remedy didn’t have a strong offering (their GLP-1 platform was already profitable and scaling). But focusing first on their own distribution efforts for a niche offering then adding Thirty Madison’s established reach across multiple verticals gave them immediate access to a far larger, already-engaged patient base.

The takeaway: In healthcare, distribution channels—whether through payers, providers, or beloved consumer brands—are often harder to build than the tech itself.

Remedy Meds is writing a new playbook for hyper-growth in digital health: move fast, and stay profitable. Reaching profitability in healthcare is no easy feat, and Remedy seems to have cracked the code. Two years to a half-billion-dollar deal isn’t just impressive—it might be setting the new standard. It’ll be interesting to see how investor expectations change as a result of this success story, and whether Remedy can keep it up now that they’re expanding their focus to other product lines.

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Until next time,

Lauren

P.S. Doors will be opening again soon for the Hey Health Tech Community, a space for clinicians to learn about innovations in patient care and network with peers. If you want to be the first to know when enrollment begins, join the waitlist. You’ll be hearing from me very soon!