Inside Eucalyptus' Ozempic growing pains
The closely watched startup has generated $100 million in the space of just 15 months from one of the fastest growing products in history. But growth like that rarely comes without consequences.
When Tim Doyle founded Eucalyptus about four years ago, he had little idea the telehealth startup would end up selling weight loss treatments. But the company's moves into the space, which coincided with the rise of a new class of wonder drugs led by Ozempic, have completely transformed his business. In the space of just 15 months the weight loss arm of Eucalyptus - which also sells men's health products and fertility treatments - has gone "from nothing for us to nearly $100 million of revenue,” he says.
Yet rapid growth like that rarely comes without consequences. And so it has been for Eucalyptus. In a wide-ranging interview with Capital Brief to discuss the company's surging business and challenges, Doyle confirmed the company has run into trouble with the Therapeutic Goods Administration, which regulates advertising of prescription-only medicine in Australia. “We have not communicated with patients in the way that the TGA would like us to, and we are fixing that," he says.
He also confirmed the company has been caught up in shortages of Ozempic in this country, which has caused patients stress and required the company to offer alternative solutions.
Despite this, the company remains on a solid financial footing. After cutting jobs and costs last year the company has no immediate plans to raise fresh capital, he says. It is also expanding into its fourth major market, Japan, in coming weeks and is developing plans to enter the men's longevity business. But Doyle is still keen to set the record straight about the challenges of building a business on what he says is the “fastest growing medical category in the world.”
