DEA Claims Truepill Illegally Distributed Stimulant Medication Prescriptions

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has claimed that Truepill, a telehealth pharmacy, illegally filled hundreds of prescriptions for stimulant drugs like Adderall, which are used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The DEA revealed last week that it had given the startup a show-cause notice as part of a process to determine whether a DEA certificate of registration should be withdrawn.

Truepill has been given notice that it must provide evidence in support of the prescriptions it has been writing for controlled substances. The pharmacy startup risks losing its DEA license if the evidence isn’t strong enough. If that happens, the business would no longer be able to fill controlled substance prescriptions.

Truepill, founded in 2016, is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and provides a business-to-business API for pharmacy order fulfillment, private label packaging, and custom product development. After seeing success with its pharmacy fulfillment and delivery service, the company decided to diversify its offerings by establishing a telehealth and at-home lab testing network.

According to the DEA’s probe, Truepill filled over 70,000 prescriptions for controlled substances between 2020 and 2022. 60% of these were for stimulants like Adderall.

The DEA claims that further investigation showed that the pharmacy knowingly filled illegal prescriptions that either exceeded the 90-day supply limits or were written by prescribers without the required state licensing.

Truepill has served the prescription needs of several telehealth organizations. According to reports, it was the pharmacy of choice for online mental health service provider Cerebral. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently investigating this company’s prescribing methods as potential violations of the Controlled Substances Act.

Through paid online advertisements and social media, Cerebral promoted its ADHD medications directly to consumers. The company partnered with Truepill to ensure that patients who needed ADHD medication could get it after a telehealth consultation with their doctor.

A former federal prosecutor has warned that other telehealth companies in the country will be subject to increased scrutiny in the wake of the investigations into Cerebral that were reported over the summer.

“DEA will relentlessly pursue companies and pharmacies that seek to profit from unlawfully dispensing powerful and addictive controlled substances at the expense of the safety and health of the American people,” stated DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in a statement. “The men and women of the DEA remain committed to ensuring that every American can access essential medicines when they are lawfully prescribed and dispensed.”

Optum Ventures, YCombinator, Sound Ventures, and other investors are among those who have invested in Truepill. According to Crunchbase, the company has so far raised $255 million. In October 2021, it raised over $140 million in a series D round of funding, taking its valuation up to $1.6 billion.

However, 2022 has been quite tumultuous for the startup. It has gone through as many as four rounds of layoffs this year, with the latest round taking place on September 29. According to an update, one-fifth of the company’s entire workforce was affected by the layoffs.