Cerebral just replaced CEO Kyle Robertson as the mental-health startup faces increased scrutiny

• Kyle Robertson has been replaced as CEO of Cerebral by Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Mou.
• Robertson co-founded the mental health startup in 2020.
• The move comes as Cerebral faces scrutiny over how it prescribes highly regulated drugs.

Kyle Robertson has just been replaced as CEO of mental health startup Cerebral, according to a statement sent to Insider.

Cerebral is replacing Robertson with Dr. David Mou, the company’s chief medical officer, the company said in the statement. Jessica Muse, Cerebral’s chief operating officer, retains her title of operations and assumes the role of president. Dr. Thomas Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, will join Cerebral’s board.

In recent months, Cerebral, which provides online medication and mental health therapy, has faced increasing scrutiny over how it prescribes controlled substances to treat conditions such as anxiety and ADHD. Highly regulated drugs have the potential for addiction and are not typically prescribed to people without an in-person visit with a doctor.

In a major change to its business, Cerebral said this week it would stop prescribing most of these highly regulated drugs. Insider reported exclusively.

In a memo Wednesday, Robertson called the board’s decision to replace him illegal and said directors were trying to blame him for the company’s problems. reported the Wall Street Journal. Robertson did not immediately respond to Insider messages seeking comment for this story.

On Tuesday, the daily reported that Cerebral’s board of directors had agreed to a plan to replace Robertson after some of the members lost confidence in his leadership. They felt that the company pushed aggressively to treat ADHD and that Robertson was reluctant to follow the advice of medical staff, according to the Journal.

As of Tuesday night, Robertson had not agreed to resign but lost access to company information.

Loose

messaging system without notice, the Journal reported.

“We thank Kyle for his service,” Mou said in the statement. “His vision for him resulted in what Cerebral is today: a leading provider of urgently needed mental health services for people who are unable or unlikely to obtain treatment.”

Cerebral has faced increased scrutiny in recent months

Robertson co-founded the company after graduating from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. It was released in January 2020 and momentum achieved during the pandemic as doctor visits shifted online. Most notably, she began prescribing controlled substances, such as benzodiazepines like Xanax to treat conditions like anxiety and stimulants like Adderall to treat ADHD.

Before the pandemic, doctors were prohibited by federal law from prescribing highly regulated drugs to patients without first seeing them in person. Those rules were relaxed during the pandemic, and Cerebral was one of the few companies to start prescribing controlled substances after online hits.

In the two years since its launch, Cerebral has attracted cash from venture capital firms including SoftBank and Oak HC/FT. It was valued at $4.8 billion in December after raising a $300 million round led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2.

But in recent months, the startup has faced questions about its prescription practices. mediaindustry observers and a former executive who filed a lawsuit in April.

National pharmacy chains expressed concern that doctors at Cerebral and another company are writing too many prescriptions for stimulants, The Wall Street Journal reported in April.

Federal agencies have also taken notice of Cerebral. The US Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Department of Justice are investigating the start-up, as Insider first reported in May.

That culminated in Cerebral’s sea change on controlled substances on Monday. AN leaked email first reported by Insider He said the company’s doctors will stop prescribing most controlled substances to new patients beginning May 20 and to existing patients beginning October 15.

By joining Cerebral’s board, Insel, the former federal mental health official, touted the startup’s ability to expand access to care.

“I look forward to joining this effort confident that the company will fully focus on this unprecedented opportunity to provide the highest quality mental health care to millions of people who previously did not have access to and therefore could not benefit from it.” of effective medical and psychological treatments,” he said in the statement.

Do you have any Cerebral tips you want to share? Contact Blake Dodge (+1 252-241-3117) and Shelby Livingston (+1 843-412-6857) using the encrypted Signal app.