Quel Health Launches as First Telehealth Company Built Around GLP-1s for Addiction

Live in 41 states and D.C., Quel's telemedicine platform extends a GLP-1 addiction program developed at Caron Treatment Centers, and names Caron as a Founding Strategic Partner

SANTA FE, New Mexico, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Quel Health, Inc., today announced its launch as the first national telehealth company built specifically around the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists for addiction. Caron Treatment Centers, one of the country's longest-standing nonprofit substance use treatment providers, was named as a Founding Strategic Partner. Care is available today in 41 states and the District of Columbia, with national coverage planned by year-end.

Quel is built on the idea that substance use disorder is not a standalone disease, but one of a cluster of conditions produced by an environment engineered to capture attention and reward. Ultra-processed food, alcohol and drugs, gambling, and algorithmic media are all designed against the same neurobiology, and the chronic health challenges that follow, from obesity to substance use disorders to compulsive behaviors, share more mechanisms than the way American medicine treats them would suggest.

"We live in a society in which our dopamine networks are sold to the highest bidder," said Marlene C. Lira, MPH, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Quel Health. "We've built entire industries on the deliberate exploitation of the reward system, and then we treat the resulting conditions as separate diseases in separate clinics with separate specialists. Quel exists because we think that framing is incomplete, and because the science is finally filling in the gaps."

The scientific premise represents multiple decades of research and development across government, academia, and industry, starting more than twenty years ago when researchers found similarities in dopamine receptor availability across obesity and addiction. In the last several years, multiple randomized controlled trials and retrospective analyses have found promising associations between GLP-1 receptor agonists and reduced substance use and craving. More than 50 clinical trials examining GLP-1s for addiction are currently registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.

"Addiction medicine has spent forty years with a limited toolkit. As of today, there are no FDA-approved medications for cannabis use disorder, no FDA-approved medications for stimulant use disorder, and limited options for alcohol use disorder, a disease that causes more than twice as many deaths annually as overdose." said Steven Klein, MD, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Quel Health. "We now have a generation of medications that hold promise to act on the underlying reward circuitry itself."

It is important to note that, despite the growing evidence, the FDA has not approved GLP-1 receptor agonists for substance use indications. However, use of medications for non-approved indications, called off-label prescribing, is legal and common in the addiction field, with gabapentin, topiramate, baclofen, ondansetron, bupropion, and mirtazapine all frequently used for off-label indications in the space. Off-label prescribing requires a thorough evaluation and informed-consent process, including discussion of the current evidence, contraindications, potential known and unknown risks, and available treatment alternatives.

Quel's telemedicine platform allows patients to connect from the comfort and privacy of their home to affiliated providers with addiction expertise. Providers conduct a video evaluation and develop an individualized treatment plan considering a range of potential therapies, including off-label use of GLP-1 receptor agonists if clinically appropriate. Ongoing care includes video visits with medication management and health tracking, and app-based messaging and support. Quel also partners with treatment organizations and recovery residences seeking access to specialist expertise. Quel builds upon work begun in a residential clinical setting. At Caron's Pennsylvania and Florida campuses, Dr. Klein's team began evaluating GLP-1 receptor agonists in patients whose primary diagnosis was substance use disorder rather than obesity or diabetes, an approach documented by STAT News in July 2025.

"Caron is committed to advancing thoughtful, evidence-informed approaches to addiction treatment," said Steven Wall, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Caron Treatment Centers. "Our relationship with Quel reflects an interest in evaluating how emerging treatment approaches may responsibly expand access to care. Because the use of GLP-1 medications for substance use disorders remains investigational and off-label, rigorous clinical oversight, informed consent, and continued research are essential."

Through Caron's role as a founding strategic partner, Caron, Quel, and Quel's affiliated medical practices intend to explore opportunities to collaborate on clinical protocols, appropriately approved research initiatives, professional education, and public awareness.

About Quel Health

Quel Health, Inc. is a telehealth startup aiming to expand access to evidence-informed care for substance use disorders and compulsive behaviors. Headquartered near Santa Fe, NM, Quel is co-founded by Chief Executive Officer Marlene C. Lira, MPH, a substance use epidemiologist, telemedicine expert, and addiction policy leader, and Chief Medical Officer Steven D. Klein, MD, PhD, a triple board-certified addiction medicine physician and clinical pioneer in the GLP-1 and addiction space. Quel is a management services organization and does not practice medicine. Clinical services are provided by licensed clinicians employed by affiliated professional entities. Learn more at https://quel.health.

Selected research informing Quel's clinical approach:

• Klausen, Mette Kruse, et al. "Once-weekly semaglutide versus placebo in patients with alcohol use disorder and comorbid obesity: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial." The Lancet 407.10540 (2026): 1687-1698. Link to text.
• Hendershot, Christian S., et al. "Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with alcohol use disorder: a randomized clinical trial." JAMA psychiatry 82.4 (2025): 395-405. Link to text.
• Schacht, Joseph P., et al. "Oral semaglutide for alcohol use disorder: a randomized clinical trial." American Journal of Psychiatry (2026): appi-ajp. Link to text.
• Hendershot, Christian S., et al. "Once-weekly semaglutide in adults with daily cigarette use: A randomized clinical trial." JAMA Network Open 9.5 (2026): e2614898. Link to text.
• Wang, William, et al. "Associations of semaglutide with incidence and recurrence of alcohol use disorder in real-world population." Nature communications 15.1 (2024): 4548. Link to text.
• Wang, William, et al. "Association of semaglutide with reduced incidence and relapse of cannabis use disorder in real-world populations: a retrospective cohort study." Molecular psychiatry 29.8 (2024): 2587-2598. Link to text.
• Cai, Miao, et al. "Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and risk of substance use disorders among US veterans with type 2 diabetes: cohort study." bmj 392 (2026). Link to text.
• Qeadan, Fares, Ashlie McCunn, and Benjamin Tingey. "The association between glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and/or glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist prescriptions and substance‐related outcomes in patients with opioid and alcohol use disorders: A real‐world data analysis." Addiction 120.2 (2025): 236-250. Link to text.
• Lakhani, Dhairya A., and Wanhong Zheng. "Association of GLP-1 receptor agonist use with long-term outcomes in patients with opioid use disorder." Journal of Addictive Diseases (2026): 1-9. Link to text.
• Lähteenvuo, Markku, et al. "Repurposing semaglutide and liraglutide for alcohol use disorder." JAMA psychiatry 82.1 (2025): 94-98. Link to text.
• Pan, Jane Y., et al. "GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Treatment and Health Outcomes in Methadone-Treated Patients with Opioid Use Disorder and Diabetes: Pan et al." Journal of General Internal Medicine (2026): 1-10. Link to text.
• Tyndall, Benjamin, et al. "Association of GLP‐1 Receptor Agonist Prescriptions and Alcohol Consumption in the National Institutes of Health's All of Us Cohort." Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research 50.7 (2026): e70357. Link to text.
• Bach, Patrick, et al. "Association of GLP-1 receptor agonists with alcohol use disorder-related and substance use disorder-related hospital admissions during treatment and after discontinuation: a Swedish register-based within-individual observational study." The Lancet Psychiatry 13.8 (2026): 669-677. Link to text.
• Gougol, Amir, et al. "Real‐world alcohol use disorder outcomes in patients with concurrent metabolic dysfunction: GLP‐1 receptor agonists versus FDA‐approved AUD medications." Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics 63.11 (2026): 1507-1516. Link to text.

Media Contact

Afaf Seyam, Quel Health, 1 8554387835, [email protected], https://quel.health

SOURCE Quel Health