Category Archives: Dermal Papilla Cells

Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSC), Cell Therapy, Dermal Papilla Cells, Dermal Sheath Cup Cells, Hair Regeneration

Effective Cell Therapy for Hair Regeneration

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Update: June 8, 2026

More new Papers from Jong-Hyuk Sung

Epibiotech’s CEO and prolific hair loss researcher Jong-Hyuk Sung has co-authored two new major papers in recent months:

Update: Epibiotech CEO Sung (who is the author of the new 2022 paper covered in this post) is answering our questions in the comments this week. Please note that English is not his first language. Q & A has now ended.

November 25, 2022

Effective cell Therapy for Hair Regeneration

Earlier this month, Epibiotech CEO Jong-Hyuk Sung published a detailed new paper titled “Effective and economical cell therapy for hair regeneration.” It was widely covered in South Korean media (h/t “Theo”, who also sent me this update on Mr. Sung’s presentation covering the paper). They call him Seong Jong-Hyeok in that article.

My interest piqued when I read such a thorough scientific paper from a CEO. Almost unheard of in the western world. I showed it to a well known US hair transplant doctor, and he found it to be a great summary.

Adipose-Derived Stem Cells, Dermal Papilla Cells and Dermal Sheath Cup Cells

Note that Dr. Sung has published numerous papers on adipose-derived stem cells and hair regeneration (and wound healing) for 15 years. This CEO seems to be a scientist first and foremost, rather than a business person.

This latest paper covers the three main types of cell based hair regeneration treatment strategies that are currently being developed:

  1. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC or ASC).
  2. Dermal papilla cells (DPC).
  3. Dermal papilla epithelial cup cells, better known as dermal sheath cup cells (DPSC or DSC).

The paper also mentions the manufacturing of hair organoids using induced pluripotent stem cells. Including a shout out to Dr. Takashi Tsuji.

  • Note that Shiseido (including its use of Replicel’s technology) now offers a hair regeneration treatment involving culturing of dermal sheath cup cells.
  • Also note that in the past, Aderans and Intercytex both saw some success in hair growth via dermal papilla cell culturing and injection into balding scalps. HairClone is currently trying something similar.

Dr. Sung’s company Epibiotech is ultimately driven by “Off-the-shelf” allogeneic DPC therapy. It aims to begin Phase 1 clinical trials for its EPI-001 dermal papilla cell hair multiplication treatment in 2023. We are all hopeful that things will move faster in Asia in comparison to the US or Western Europe. The company can already mass-produce dermal papilla cells with hair growth ability using spheroid culture, hypoxic conditions, and growth factors.

Cell Therapy Hair Growth
Cell therapy for hair growth. Adipose, dermal papilla and dermal sheath cup cells. Source: Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, January 2023.

Adipose Derived Stem Cells

Given the author’s background, the paper is especially detailed when it comes to ADSC (ASC). Dr. Sung highlights the pros and cons.

    • Adipose-derived stem cells are easy to access and isolate in large quantities. This is not true when it comes to dermal papilla cells and dermal sheath cup cells.
    • While ASCs promote hair growth through the paracrine effect, they have a poor potential in hair neogenesis. Dr. Sung suggests further development in methods to enhance the trichogenecity of ASCs.

Other New Recent Studies on Hair Regeneration

As if this was not enough, two new papers on hair regeneration came out in the past month.

  • A literature review from Japan covers numerous cell therapies for hair regrowth. This includes mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) implantation. Adult sources of MSC include: adipose tissue (including SVF); bone marrow; DPC; DSC; placenta and umbilical cord. The paper also analyzes non-cell therapies, including exosomes, extracellular matrix, platelet-rich plasma, and the MSC secretome. The last mentioned “comprises bioactive materials, such as growth factors, cytokines and nucleic acids that play an important role in regulating the hair follicle cycle and regeneration”.
  • A new study from China on microenvironmental reprogramming of human dermal papilla cells for hair follicle tissue engineering.
Dermal Papilla Cells, Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, Qstem

Qstem: Producing Hair Follicles via hiPSCs and DPCs

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Update: May 20, 2026

Qstem hiPSC-derived dermal papilla cells.
Qstem hiPSC-derived dermal papilla cells (culture medium). Hair growth comparison versus Minoxidil.

Qstem: Cell-free therapy for alopecia via the secretome of hiPSC-derived dermal papilla cells

Just a few days after writing this post, more good news from Q-Stem. Their research team published a new paper titled “Cell-free therapy for alopecia via the secretome of hiPSC-derived dermal papilla cells.” Apparently, they have established a proprietary stem cell-derived hair papillary cell culture medium platform technology. This induces functional dermal papilla cells from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Per their research results, this medium demonstrated enhanced hair growth-promoting effects compared to the control group and the standard minoxidil treatment group (via an 8-day human hair follicle time-series culture experiment). Hair growth signal activation was also confirmed. Even in a dihydrotestosterone (DHT) environment, significant hair growth responses were observed. The company plans to launch a hair loss care product utilizing this technology in August 2026. They call it an off-the-shelf cell-free hair booster for treating alopecia.

So before moving to their main goal of creating new hair follicles for implantation, Qstem will first enter the hair loss market with this cosmetic type treatment. As with other such cosmeceutical related hair loss products, this one will also not require any clinical trials.

May 14, 2026

QSTEM Logo

Yet again, a new company in South Korea has announced its intention of curing hair loss. Qstem (also called Q-Stem) is a biotech company that was formed in late 2024 and specializes in treating hair loss using stem cell technology. The startup was originally founded by faculty from the prestigious City University of Hong Kong.

Qstem has developed a proprietary technology that differentiates dermal papilla cells (DPCs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) for use in treating hair loss. In February 2026, the company secured 2.2 billion won ($1.5 million) in seed investment funding.

The company’s South Korean founder and CEO Ban Ki-won is a professor at City University of Hong Kong. His h-index score is a high 29 according to Scopus (and 23 according to Google Scholar). The h-index measures the productivity (number of papers) and citation impact of a researcher’s published work. Professor Ban Ki-won’s specialties include stem cell biology, regenerative medicine and cardiovascular regeneration.

Qstem Hair Follicles via hiPSCs
Qstem: Differentiating human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived from a patient’s blood into dermal papilla cells and epithelial cells. Then creating new hair follicles.

Qstem (Q-Stem): New Hair Creation from hiPSCs and Dermal Papilla Cells

Qstem plans to create brand new hair follicles for implantation. According the information here and here and on their Naver blog and in this newspaper article, they describe their technology in the below manner.

“Q-Stem’s core technology involves differentiating induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from a patient’s blood into dermal papilla cells (DPCs) and epithelial cells, and then forming hair follicle-like structures in vitro to induce actual hair growth.”

According to CEO Ban, while dermal papilla cells are key cells that direct hair growth, their function deteriorates easily during in vitro culture. During the research team’s progress so far, maintaining the ability to actually produce hair was a much more difficult challenge than simply increasing the hair count number.

Per CEO Ban:

“Q-Stem secured dermal papilla cells that retain hair-inducing ability through iPSC-based differentiation technology and established conditions for stable culture. Furthermore, by implementing three-dimensional interactions with epithelial cells, they created a microenvironment similar to an actual hair follicle. The core of the technology was reproducing these interactions in vitro.”

Yet another description states that the company is developing technology to secure dermal papilla cells differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells, extract growth factors secreted by these cells, and commercialize them.

In animal models, the research team from Q-Stem has already managed to create in vitro hair with repeated normal growth, regression, and resting cycles.

Per CEO Ban, the fact that the growth cycle was maintained implies that it is closer to a functional hair follicle (versus just a one-time structure). The company seems confident that their in vitro hair manufacturing technology has reached biological maturity from the perspective of tissue regeneration.

Q-Stem’s Three Platforms for Tackling Hair Loss

Based on this technology, Q-Stem is expanding its platform in three directions:

  1. Dermal papilla cell culture medium.
  2. In vitro hair manufacturing.
  3. Dermal papilla cell-based therapy.

This is a bit confusing, perhaps due to translation. CEO Ban has emphasized that these are not separate businesses, but rather a single regenerative medicine technology platform. It seems like different technologies will be used depending on your stage of hair loss.

According to reader “Theo” who e-mailed me about this company, the three stages are as follows per his interpretation from other sources:

  1. Dermal papilla liquor (cosmetic shampoo per the photos on their blog).
  2. Dermal papilla cells (similar to Epibiotech).
  3. In vitro production of hair follicles using hiPSCs (Stemson or Yunce approach).

South Korean laws are very strict when someone wants to use stem cells/hiPSCs. Per “Theo”, every company must build or have a partnership with someone that has a proper CMO facility for producing stem cells.

Qstem is currently establishing a mass production process for dermal papilla cell culture medium. In addition to the earlier mentioned blog, the company has a basic Instagram page with limited information at present.

Check out the below recent presentation from Kiwon Ban (alternate name for the CEO):