The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in the US has served an order against Truepill, a retail pharmacy specialising in telehealth services, asking it to answer allegations it has been involved in the unlawful dispensing of prescription stimulants.
The pharmacy fills prescriptions for telehealth companies including Cerebral and Done, which marketed drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) directly to consumers using Internet advertisements and social media.
According to the DEA, Cerebral arranged for patients to receive prescriptions for ADHD treatments through a telehealth visit, and for Truepill to fill those prescriptions, and it believes that "thousands" of those transactions may have been unlawful.
The 'order to show cause' requires Truepill to provide evidence to justify its actions, and if it fails to do so or cannot convince the DEA it operated lawfully could have its DEA Certificate of Registration for handling controlled substances to be revoked.
According to the DEA, between September 2020 and September 2022 Truepill "filled more than 72,000 controlled substance prescriptions, 60 per cent of which were for stimulants, including generic forms of Adderall."
It continues: "In numerous instances, Truepill dispensed controlled substances pursuant to prescriptions that were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course of professional practice."
An investigation into Truepill's operations revealed that the pharmacy filled prescriptions that were unlawful by exceeding the 90-day supply limits, and/or written by prescribers who did not possess the proper state licensing.
Truepill also created its own ADHD medication startup, called Ahead, which was shuttered earlier this year.
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