‘Back soon’: RFK Jr-inspired health start-up goes offline

A new telehealth start-up offering prescription-only peptides has taken down its website days after this masthead reported on its founder’s platforming of prominent anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists on his podcast and social media promotion of prescription-only medication.

The website for Bobbi, an online doctor shop founded by serial entrepreneur, longevity enthusiast and Shark Tank Australia judge Nick Bell, said the platform was “making some updates” this week.

“We’ll be back soon,” the website said.

Information about Bobbi’s treatment plans, which involve packages to treat hormone health, weight loss, low testosterone and sex drive, are no longer live on the site.

Also down is Bobbi’s “about” page, which explained that the start-up is inspired by United States health secretary and vaccine-sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

An Instagram account for Bobbi was also set to private this week.

Bobbi and Bell were both approached for comment.

Last week, this masthead reported that Bobbi is one of a growing number of online platforms which allow consumers to easily access prescription peptides, a class of injectable drugs that backers believe can bestow wellness benefits, including better workouts, heightened sex drive and glowing skin.

While many of these drugs are available as prescription-only medication, they are rarely prescribed by general practitioners. Under Bobbi’s model, users fill out an online questionnaire, which is followed by a phone – not video – consultation with a doctor that can be as short as 15 minutes.

One source, who provided this masthead with details of their purchase on condition of anonymity, was then prescribed $500 worth of Mounjaro (a weight-loss medication similar to Ozempic) and CJC-1295, a prescription-only growth hormone peptide.

Bobbi’s products are then delivered to the consumer by post.

While Bobbi’s model does not breach the complicated patchwork of regulations around prescription and telehealth, some medical experts raised concerns that such businesses were operating in a regulatory “wild west,” and giving vulnerable consumers easy access to drugs with limited oversight.

A spokesperson for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency said that the body, which regulates medical professionals, was unable to comment on individual matters.

When the agency identifies serious breaches of advertising regulations by companies offering health services, it can request that material be taken offline.

This is not the first instance of Bobbi removing material. Until last week, the company’s website bore a logo for the federal Department of Health. It was quietly removed after this masthead sent the company questions about whether the department had endorsed Bobbi. The department did not respond to requests for comment.

Bobbi’s founder Bell also removed an Instagram post encouraging users to “Get your peptides from @Bobbi.health”. Prescription-only medication, which includes some of the peptides sold by Bobbi, cannot be advertised in Australia.

Bobbi was founded last year by Bell, an entrepreneur who in 2020 featured on The Australian Financial Review’s Young Rich List after selling his digital advertising agency.

An aspiring biohacker who aims to live until 150, Bell has since pivoted into the wellness space, opening Melbourne longevity clinic Super Young in 2024.

As this masthead reported, he also has a podcast called Get Harder, which he uses to interview figures with views at odds with the medical mainstream, including celebrity chef-turned-conspiracy theorist Pete Evans.

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