Veradermics’ hair loss drug succeeds in late-stage trial

Allison DeAngelis is the East Coast biotech and venture capital reporter at STAT, reporting where scientific ideas and money meet. She is also co-host of the weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Allison on Signal at AllisonDeAngelis.01.

An oral medicine for hair loss successfully spurred hair growth in a late-stage trial, startup Veradermics announced Monday.

Veradermics assessed the pill in two ways: by how many hairs grew within a square centimeter of the scalp, on average, and by how satisfied participants were with the results. Over the course of six months, men who took the drug, known as VDPHL01, either once or twice daily had between 30 and 33 more hairs per square centimeter of scalp. Men in the placebo group grew approximately seven additional hairs.

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Between 79% and 86% of men taking VDPHL01 said they saw improvement, along with between 72% and 84% of the clinical trial investigators — results that pleased Reid Waldman, a dermatologist turned Veradermics’ chief executive.

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