Pronto Pharmacy, LLC
Outcome
DEA issued Order to Show Cause and Immediate Suspension August 23, 2019, for unlicensed manufacturing of oxycodone and hydromorphone and filling cash-paid prescriptions from distant prescribers; federal court ordered pharmacy closed November 2021; two employees permanently banned from controlled substance businesses.
Details
Pronto Pharmacy, LLC — Unlicensed Manufacturing and Pill Mill (2018–2021)
Outcome: DEA issued an Order to Show Cause and Immediate Suspension of Registration on August 23, 2019, for unlicensed manufacturing of controlled substances and large-scale opioid diversion facilitation; a federal court ordered the Tampa pharmacy closed on November 1, 2021, and two employees were permanently banned from owning, managing, or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed.
On August 23, 2019, the DEA issued an Order to Show Cause and Immediate Suspension of Registration to Pronto Pharmacy, LLC, suspending DEA Certificate of Registration No. FP2302076, after finding that the pharmacy's continued registration was inconsistent with the public interest. The OSC/ISO proposed revocation and denial of all pending applications.
The government's evidence established that Pronto Pharmacy unlawfully manufactured controlled substances — specifically oxycodone and hydromorphone — without holding a manufacturer's DEA registration. Compounding controlled substances in a manner that amounts to manufacturing requires a separate manufacturer's registration, which Pronto did not have.
The evidence also demonstrated a classic pill mill pattern: between September 10, 2018, and May 6, 2019, over 75% of the pharmacy's controlled substance prescriptions were issued by prescribers whose medical practices were located more than 150 miles away from the pharmacy. Additionally, over 90% of prescriptions for oxycodone 30 mg and hydromorphone 8 mg filled by the pharmacy were paid for with cash. These patterns indicated the pharmacy was deliberately serving a customer base seeking controlled substances for non-medical purposes.
On November 1, 2021, a federal court in Florida ordered Pronto Pharmacy to close and prohibited two of its employees from ever owning, managing, or operating any business where controlled substances are dispensed. The DEA's final Decision and Order was published in the Federal Register on November 18, 2021.
Primary Source: Pronto Pharmacy, LLC; Decision and Order (Fed. Reg. Nov. 18, 2021)
How Crucible Prevents This
Over 75% of Pronto's controlled substance prescriptions came from prescribers located more than 150 miles away, and over 90% of oxycodone and hydromorphone prescriptions were cash-pay — both are quantifiable red flags. Crucible's geographic and payment-method analytics would have flagged these outlier patterns immediately, triggering mandatory escalation before DEA initiated its ISO.
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