A new telemedicine company, Quel, announced it is launching as the first telehealth venture built around GLP-1s for addiction. The company’s services are available in 41 states. STAT summarized the launch as part of its Morning Rounds briefing and linked the new offering to prior reporting on early clinical use of GLP-1 drugs in addiction care.
Quel’s public announcement framed the company as focused on delivering GLP-1–based treatments via telehealth. According to the STAT summary, the service expands a treatment concept that was initially tested in a clinical setting and is being adapted for broader telemedicine delivery. The STAT item referenced a Quel press release for the company’s claim to be the first telehealth venture organized around this treatment approach.
STAT draws a direct line from Quel’s program to work at Caron Treatment Centers in Pennsylvania. Caron had implemented a program using semaglutide as part of an effort to reduce cravings and support addiction treatment. Lev Facher’s earlier reporting in STAT described Caron’s use of semaglutide as “a journey into uncharted territory,” noting the program as an early clinical application of GLP-1 drugs beyond their approved indications.
When STAT reported last summer, it noted that only a handful of clinical trials had evaluated GLP-1s for substance use. The Morning Rounds item states that dozens more studies now exist, with many of those newer studies focusing specifically on alcohol use disorder. The STAT coverage positions Quel’s telehealth offering against a backdrop of evolving but still limited clinical trial evidence for GLP-1s in treating substance-related conditions.
The STAT article makes clear that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved GLP-1 medications for substance use disorders. Because of that, Quel will be prescribing these medications off-label for addiction. The piece emphasizes the regulatory status explicitly: the drugs are being used outside their approved indications when prescribed for substance-related conditions.
STAT quotes physician Steven Klein, who is a co-founder and chief medical officer at Quel. Klein told Lev Facher in prior reporting that “We’re using something off-label under the umbrella of addiction, whether that be food, sex, alcohol, or opioids.” The Morning Rounds summary references that quote and connects it to Quel’s stated mission and clinical model.
The STAT write-up links Quel’s launch to earlier reporting and to the broader research context. It highlights that the program being offered via telehealth is an extension of a clinical approach first tested at a single treatment center and that definitive regulatory approval for these indications is lacking. STAT also notes that the evidence base had been small at the time of earlier reporting but has expanded to include many additional studies, particularly in alcohol use disorder. The article does not report clinical outcomes from Quel’s program, specific treatment protocols, pricing or patient eligibility criteria, nor details about the designs or results of the referenced trials; those details were not provided in the source.
The Morning Rounds item refers readers to Lev Facher’s earlier STAT feature about GLP-1s and addiction at Caron Treatment Centers for more detailed reporting on the clinical origin story and initial experiences with semaglutide in addiction care.
According to STAT, Quel is marketing itself as the first telehealth company centered on GLP-1s for addiction and will prescribe these medications off-label in 41 states. The move builds on earlier clinical experimentation at Caron Treatment Centers and occurs amid growing research interest, though the FDA has not approved GLP-1s for substance use indications and the source did not provide outcome data or detailed protocols.