Is Curex legit? An honest look
A straight account of what Curex is, whether the treatment is real medicine, and the specific things worth knowing before you sign up — including the unflattering ones.
Curex is a real US telehealth company (founded 2019, based in New York) that provides at-home sublingual immunotherapy for environmental allergies — a legitimate, evidence-based treatment delivered by licensed clinicians. As with any young direct-to-consumer health brand, there are specific things worth knowing before you sign up, and this page lays them out plainly rather than selling.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Chet Tharpe, M.D. · Last reviewed August 2026
The basics
What Curex actually is
Curex is an online allergy and asthma clinic. It offers at-home allergen testing, review and prescribing by licensed clinicians, and mailed sublingual immunotherapy — allergy drops taken under the tongue daily at home — for environmental allergies like pollen, dust mites, and pet dander. The treatment approach, sublingual immunotherapy, is a recognized form of allergen immunotherapy — the only category of allergy treatment that modifies the underlying allergy rather than just masking symptoms.
The evidence
Is the treatment real medicine?
Yes — and the numbers behind that answer are worth seeing before the argument, rather than buried inside it.
- randomized placebo-controlled trials (Cochrane review)
- 60randomized placebo-controlled trials (Cochrane review)
- patients in the 2026 real-world telemedicine cohort
- 2,897patients in the 2026 real-world telemedicine cohort
- clinically meaningful improvement, 12 to 24 months
- 28% → 45%clinically meaningful improvement, 12 to 24 months
- cases of anaphylaxis in that cohort
- 0cases of anaphylaxis in that cohort
A Cochrane review of 60 randomized, placebo-controlled trials found sublingual immunotherapy reduced allergic-rhinitis symptoms and medication use versus placebo, which is the basis on which the route is accepted as real medicine. The 2026 study of 2,897 patients adds real-world outcomes for the telemedicine route specifically.
That study is observational, so it shows patients improved and stayed on treatment — it does not prove the online model beats in-person care, and we are not going to say it does.
Straight talk
The concerns worth knowing
- Custom drops are off-label. The allergen extracts are FDA-regulated, but a personalized multi-allergen mixture isn’t a fixed FDA-approved product, so it’s prescribed off-label. That’s legal and common — but it also means the FDA hasn’t evaluated that specific mixture. Only single-source sublingual tablets (grass, ragweed, dust mite) are FDA-approved.
- Two FDA communications exist, and they are different. A 2021 untitled letter that does concern the allergy drops, and a 2025 warning letter about GLP-1 marketing that does not. Both are laid out in full below, in order.
- Direct-to-consumer basics. The New York telehealth entity is not BBB accredited and carries a BBB rating of C. Read recent customer reviews and understand the subscription, billing, and cancellation terms before committing — standard due diligence for any young DTC health brand.
The full record
Both FDA communications, in order
Curex has received two communications from the FDA. They are years apart, about different products, and at different levels of severity — which is precisely why listing only the easier one would be dishonest. Here is the whole record.
- March 23, 2021Untitled letter · CBERAbout the allergy drops
Marketing of unapproved allergenic extract mixtures
FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research wrote to Curex about marketing mixtures of allergenic extracts intended for sublingual use — the allergy drops themselves. The agency’s position is that a customized mixture is a biological product requiring an approved biologics licence, and no such licence exists for these mixtures. A written response was requested within 30 days.
An untitled letter is FDA’s lower tier, used for issues that do not meet the threshold for a warning letter. This is the regulatory expression of the off-label status stated above, and it applies to the customized-drops model across the industry rather than to this company alone.
- What it was not
- Not a recall, seizure, injunction, or any finding of patient harm. Not a restriction on the service.
- Where it stands
- A written response was requested within 30 days. FDA does not routinely publish close-out letters for untitled letters, and none is on file.
- September 9, 2025Warning letter · CDERNot about allergy
Marketing language for compounded GLP-1 medications
Part of an industry-wide action reaching more than 50 companies that compound or sell GLP-1 weight-loss medications. The agency objected to wording that could lead a reader to believe a compounded preparation is a generic or equivalent version of an FDA-approved drug such as Wegovy or Ozempic.
This one concerns a separate product line. It made no finding about sublingual immunotherapy, allergy drops, or allergen extracts.
- What it was not
- Not about allergy care. Not a recall, not a safety finding about any medication, not a lawsuit.
- Where it stands
- Curex states it addressed the concerns and corrected the language — checkable: current materials say compounded GLP-1s are not FDA-approved and not the same as branded drugs.
Fit
Who it fits — and who should see someone in person
Online sublingual immunotherapy suits people with environmental allergic rhinitis who are appropriate candidates. If you have a history of anaphylaxis, poorly controlled or severe asthma, or suspected food or drug allergy, you should be evaluated by an allergist in person — a responsible service will tell you so rather than treat everyone the same. See our honest guide to when you need an allergist in person.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Curex is a real US telehealth company founded in 2019, based in New York, that provides at-home sublingual immunotherapy (allergy drops) for environmental allergies, using licensed clinicians and at-home allergen testing. The underlying treatment — sublingual immunotherapy — is a recognized, evidence-based approach.
Custom multi-allergen sublingual drops are prescribed off-label, which is legal and routine in US medicine — the allergen extracts are FDA-regulated, but the personalized compounded mixture is not a fixed FDA-approved product. Off-label does not mean unproven or unsafe; it also does not mean the FDA has evaluated that specific mixture. Only single-source sublingual tablets (grass, ragweed, dust mite) are FDA-approved.
In September 2025 the FDA sent Curex a warning letter as part of an industry-wide action that reached more than 50 companies compounding or selling GLP-1 weight-loss medications. It concerned marketing language for compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide — specifically wording that could lead a reader to believe a compounded preparation is a generic or equivalent version of an FDA-approved drug such as Wegovy or Ozempic. It was not a product recall, not a safety finding about any medication, and not a lawsuit. Curex states that it addressed the agency’s concerns and corrected the language, and that correction is visible today: Curex’s current materials say plainly that compounded GLP-1 medications are not FDA-approved and are not the same as Wegovy or Ozempic.
The September 2025 warning letter did not. It addressed marketing language for compounded GLP-1 weight-loss medications, a separate product line, and made no finding about sublingual immunotherapy, allergy drops, or allergen extracts. There is, separately, an earlier and different FDA communication that does concern the allergy side: a March 2021 untitled letter from FDA’s biologics center about marketing mixtures of allergenic extracts for sublingual use. Both are covered on this page rather than only the one that is easier to explain.
On March 23, 2021, FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research sent Curex an untitled letter about marketing mixtures of allergenic extracts intended for sublingual immunotherapy — the allergy drops themselves. The agency’s position is that a customized mixture of allergenic extracts is a biological product that would require an approved biologics license to be marketed, and that no such license exists for these mixtures. An untitled letter is FDA’s lower-tier communication, used for violations that do not meet the threshold for a warning letter. This is the regulatory expression of the same fact stated elsewhere on this page: customized sublingual drops are not FDA-approved and are prescribed off-label. It is an industry-wide position that applies to every provider of customized sublingual drops, not to Curex alone. A written response was requested within 30 days; FDA does not routinely publish close-out letters for untitled letters.
As of this writing, the New York telehealth entity (Curex, Inc.) is not BBB accredited and carries a BBB rating of C. As with any young direct-to-consumer health company, it is reasonable to read recent customer reviews and understand the billing and cancellation terms before subscribing.
Sublingual immunotherapy is supported by a Cochrane review of 60 randomized, placebo-controlled trials showing reduced allergic-rhinitis symptoms and medication use. A 2026 real-world study of 2,897 patients on telemedicine-delivered sublingual immunotherapy reported symptom improvement rising over time, high adherence, and no anaphylaxis — an observational study, so it shows patients improved and stayed on treatment rather than proving superiority over other routes.
Anyone with a history of anaphylaxis, poorly controlled or severe asthma, or suspected food or drug allergy should be evaluated by an allergist in person. Online sublingual immunotherapy is best suited to environmental (aeroallergen) allergic rhinitis in appropriate candidates.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions about a medical condition. Content reviewed by board-certified allergists at Curex.
Keep reading
- How Curex worksThe treatment process end to end, from at-home testing to daily drops.Read
- Curex reviewsWhat patients actually report — both clusters, including the complaints.Read
- Is Curex worth the money?Plan pricing against allergy-shot costs, and who it is not worth it for.Read
- Evidence & guidelinesWhat the FDA approved, what the AAAAI/ACAAI practice parameter does and does not endorse, and what has been added since.Read
- Providers comparedCurex, Wyndly and Nectar on published prices, guarantees and evidence — including where a competitor is ahead.Read
- Allergist vs online careWhich of an allergist’s jobs transfer to remote care, which do not, and who the clinicians are.Read