Hair Loss Cure 2020 | Hair loss blog with the latest news updates.

In the worst news in the hair loss world in a few years, I have been notified that Stemson Therapeutics (US) has been forced to shut down due to funding issues. Over the past decade, this company represented the biggest hope for a real hair loss cure along with RIKEN (Japan) based Dr. Takashi Tsuji (OrganTech).

Stemson Therapeutics Ceases Operations

Below is the e-mail I just got from CEO Geoff Hamilton. It was in response to my e-mail to him yesterday regarding recent issues with layoffs at the company and their website stemsontx DOT com not working.

“Thanks for reaching out. Unfortunately, all is not OK. Due to lack of funding is this historically bad biotech funding market since 2022, Stemson has been forced to cease operations and shut down. I wish it were a different outcome. We were going after the holy grail and the most difficult approach to regenerate hair follicles, but one that could actually be curative.
It requires an enormous amount of investment, and the investment community didn’t have enough enthusiasm for it. Hopefully, someone will pick up where we left off in the future. I wish you all the best and happy holidays.”

And as a side note, Aderans and its hair multiplication procedure are truly cursed. The Japanese company’s hair multiplication subsidiary originally folded in 2013 despite significant promise. Their technology then got reincarnated in March 2024 after a new licensing deal with Stemson Therapeutics. Now they indirectly fold again.

For the time being, we have to look forward to the numerous new products that could be released in the near future that maintain one’s hair and regrow some recently lost hair. Hopefully, Shiseido’s newly released hair multiplication technology will be more effective than finasteride or minoxidil. For now, it is only available in Japan, a country that I inadvertently mentioned three times in this post.

Reversing long-standing baldness remains a pipe dream in the short term.

Veradermics VDPHL Tablet for Hair Loss — Veradermics VDPHL tablet for hair loss. Pipeline screenshot from company website.

Update: December 11, 2024

Veradermics Raises $75 Million for Phase 2/3 Trials

Veradermics just raised $75 million in Series B financing (h/t “meko”). They have also initiated a Phase 2/3 trial for their lead candidate VDPHL01 for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (AGA). The trial will enroll 480 patients across 44 sites in the US.

Note that Veradermics also has an ongoing 20-patient Phase 2 trial for VDPHL. Per this latest press release, the company plans to report topline data from that Phase 2 study in the first half of 2025.

VDPHL Clinical Trial Updated Links

VDPHL01 Phase 2 Trial

20 patients.
Start date = 2024-07-08.
Completion date =2025-08-01.

VDPHL01 Phase 2/3 Trial

480 patients.
Start date = 2024-11-06.
Completion date =2026-07.

August 9, 2024

Veradermics VDPHL Tablet: Phase 2 Trials Begin

Veradermics is a US-based startup that is working on a new tablet to treat androgenetic alopecia (AGA). They just started Phase 2 clinical trials for VDPHL01 in male subjects with AGA. Only 20 patients are enrolled, and the completion date is listed as August 1, 2025. The trial will take place at Therapeutic Research’s center in San Diego, California. Interestingly, Therapeutic Research is also conducting a topical hair loss product study at this very moment.

However, on Veradermics’ website, the pipeline page suggests that Phase 2 trials for VDPHL are finished (screenshot above). Thanks to reader “John Doe” for e-mailing me about this difference in time frame (and acronym — VDPHL01 versus VDPHL). In any case, this product is still a few years away from reaching the market assuming successful trial results. Note that VDPHL likely stands for Veradermics Pattern Hair Loss.

The tablet does not impact hormone levels as do dihydrotestosterone (DHT) inhibitors finasteride and dutasteride. Thus avoiding potential side effects. Veradermics’ CEO is a young dermatologist named Reid Waldman.

Modified Release/Extended Release Oral Minoxidil

The mechanism of action (MOA) and key ingredient(s) in this tablet are both confidential. However, when I searched through the company’s patent, it seems like the drug candidate will be a “modified release” oral minoxidil tablet. In the patent, they use the term “extended release (ER)”.

Note that they do not use the term “sublingual minoxidil” anywhere in the patent. Also, I wonder how they will be able to differentiate from the existing oral minoxidil based “Hairy Pill” from Australian dermatologist Dr. Rodney Sinclair’s company?

Other Potential Ingredients in VDPHL

In the patent, they also have a massive list of 191 claims. Within that section, all of the following drugs are listed 11 times each:

Setipiprant (11 times).
Valproic acid (11 times).
Cetirizine (11 times).
Medrogestone (11 times).

For long time readers of this blog, setipiprant (and Kythera) will ring a bell. It caused so much excitement a decade ago. I cannot believe that the very optimistic 9-yr old audio interview with Kythera’s CEO is still online. Setipiprant is an oral antagonist to the prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) receptor.

I covered valproic acid and hair growth in detail in the past. Follica also has a patent that covers valproic acid and hair regrowth. Valproic acid activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Cetirizine is a PGD2 inhibitor that has been shown to benefit hair growth even when used topically.

I have never covered medrogestone on this site before. Per Wikipedia, it is a progestin that is an agonist of the progesterone receptor and a weak anti-androgen. Progesterone is a female sex hormone that has beneficial properties towards hair growth.