Fellow Health is a company that offers at-home mail-in semen analysis services for male fertility testing, including full semen analysis, post-vasectomy checks, and sperm cryopreservation, making it easier for patients to get clinical-grade results privately and conveniently through a partnership with a CLIA-certified lab. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Fellow Health CEO Brian Hogan to gain a deeper understanding of the company.
Brian Hogan’s Background
Could you tell me more about your background? Hogan said:
“I began my career as an internal auditor at Bank of America; it was SOX compliance before SOX formally existed. It was an incredible foundation as a new undergraduate, giving me direct exposure to banking executives and a practical understanding of how large institutions operate.”
“After a decade in financial services, I made a career-defining shift into life sciences, joining a company developing an HIV/AIDS vaccine. While the Phase III trial failed, I discovered the industry where I wanted to devote the rest of my career. Managing money is important, but contributing to companies that directly improve human health is uniquely rewarding, and it’s where I knew I could make the greatest impact.”
Formation Of The Company
How did the idea for the company come together? Hogan shared:
“Fellow Health was born out of our founder’s struggles navigating the traditional clinic system during his own fertility journey, including having to schedule several in-person appointments with multiple physicians over several months for a baseline semen test. That experience shaped our mission: to modernize men’s reproductive health with accessible, at-home solutions that remove friction and improve outcomes.”
Favorite Memory
What has been your favorite memory working for the company so far? Hogan reflected:
“A recent highlight was attending the American Urological Association’s annual meeting this past May. At the Innovation Nexus symposium, we were recognized with a video presentation showcasing our progress since their inaugural event in 2023. We were the only mail-in fertility company with four abstracts accepted for presentation, and we generated more than 300 qualified sales leads directly from the conference.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Hogan explained:
“We currently offer three at-home mail-in tests focused on men’s fertility:
- Full Semen Analysis (FSA): Provides clinical-grade results on concentration, volume, motility, and morphology. Shown to be as accurate as in-clinic tests in a study published in Fertility and Sterility (October 2020).
- Post-Vasectomy Semen Analysis (PVSA): Detects the presence or absence of sperm. Compliance in traditional lab settings hovers around 40%, but with our test, compliance exceeds 80% after 40 weeks (Journal of Urology, December 2024). Our test improves patient adherence while relieving clinic staff from on-demand sample processing.
- Full Semen Analysis with Cryopreservation: Allows patients to store sperm ahead of medical treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, or gender-affirming therapy.”
Challenges Faced
Have you faced any challenges in your sector recently? Hogan acknowledged:
“Like many fast-growing start-ups, we scaled quickly in late 2023 and early 2024. By Q3 2024, we had to refocus—streamlining our operations and aligning resources around our most impactful opportunities. That discipline has strengthened the business and positioned us for sustainable growth.”
Evolution Of The Company’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Hogan noted:
“From day one, we’ve prioritized both quality and automation. Several leaders on our team have deep diagnostics experience, and we know that once a test paradigm is validated, the real work is scaling throughput and driving down cost of goods. Today, we’re advancing multiple automation initiatives to achieve exactly that.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Hogan cited:
— Delivering over 200,000 reports to patients and clinics, a testament to the trust in our science and our team’s dedication.
— Receiving a high-complexity laboratory permit from the New York State Department of Health (CLEP), along with approval for our PVSA test. CLEP’s standards are among the most stringent in the U.S. This validation underscores the robustness of our technology and opens access to patients in one of the largest healthcare markets in the country.
Customer Success Stories
When asking Hogan about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“Our PVSA test has dramatically improved compliance rates for men, helping both patients and physicians with a simpler, more reliable process. For fertility, our FSA test enable couples and clinicians to accelerate treatment decisions, often saving significant time and money.”
Funding
When asking Hogan about the company’s funding details, he revealed:
“We recently closed a $24 million Series B led by 5AM Ventures, with new participation from Forest Road. We’re currently on track to deliver 40% year-over-year revenue growth and remain on a clear path to profitability in 2026.”
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) is the company pursuing? Hogan assessed:
“In the U.S. alone, the PVSA market exceeds 500,000 procedures annually, while the FSA market is approximately 2 million tests annually. Both represent significant opportunities to expand access and modernize care.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Hogan affirmed:
“Unlike many mail-in tests that fall into the ‘wellness-grade’ category, we are one of the few services operating as a high-complexity clinical laboratory. This means our results meet the same standards as in-clinic testing and are trusted by physicians for clinical decision-making. At the same time, we design for ease of use, which drives higher compliance and better patient experiences”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Hogan concluded:
“Beyond fertility, we’re advancing diagnostics in prostate cancer detection using seminal fluid. In 2024, our feasibility study identified known prostate cancer biomarkers with sensitivity and specificity comparable to current blood or urine-based tests.”
