Pelage Pharmaceuticals – a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company pioneering a new generation of treatments for hair loss – announced that the company had closed a $16.75 million Series A financing led by GV with participation from Main Street Advisors, Visionary Ventures, and YK BioVentures to advance a first-in-class treatment for androgenetic alopecia or pattern baldness, and other types of alopecia including chemotherapy-induced hair loss.
The Phase 1 trial evaluating PP405, a novel topical agent designed to treat androgenetic alopecia and other forms of hair loss, showed 0.05% PP405 topical treatment for seven days is safe and tolerable with no adverse events and confirmed a daily dosing regimen. More importantly, the study demonstrated biological activity, proof of mechanism of action seen in preclinical studies, and showed treatment with PP405 stimulated statistically significant activation of a critical hair follicle stem cell activation marker. Translational data will be presented at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting in March.
Androgenetic alopecia (also known as pattern balding) is the most common form of alopecia and accounts for more than 90% of all hair loss, impacting both men and women. And PP405 may also have applications for other types of hair loss such as telogen effluvium (stress-induced hair loss) and chemotherapy-induced hair loss.
Along with the funding and Phase 1 topline data, Pelage announced the appointment of Qing Yu Christina Weng, M.D., as the company’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Weng is a physician-scientist, Harvard-trained board-certified dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and faculty at Harvard Medical School. Along with her clinical expertise, Dr. Weng brings a corporate strategy and business development background. At Pelage, Dr. Weng’s experience will inform the company’s development of PP405 as it advances to Phase 2 studies.
KEY QUOTES:
“Our scientific co-founders have uncovered a unique biological mechanism with the potential to reactivate hair growth in people with alopecia. We are pleased to announce that we have completed a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial that demonstrated seven days of topical dosing with PP405 was safe and well-tolerated, and showed statistically significant activation of hair follicle stem cells. With the support of GV, Main Street Advisors and other top-tier investors, we expect to advance our lead program to a Phase 2a clinical trial in the second half of this year.”
– Daniel Gil, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Pelage Pharmaceuticals
“What we’ve observed is that in people who experience hair loss, the actual hair follicle stem cells are still present but have reverted to a dormant state. We have uncovered a small molecule able to stimulate cellular metabolism to re-awaken hair follicle stem cells and spur new hair growth.”
– William Lowry, Ph.D., scientific co-founder, Pelage Pharmaceuticals (The discovery was made by Drs. Lowry, Heather Christofk and Michael Jung, of the University of California, Los Angeles. And PP405 is designed to inhibit the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) to specifically reactivate the dormant hair follicle stem cells).
“Hair loss is an incredibly common health problem with few effective solutions. GV is excited by the incredible science behind the Pelage technology. Pelage is pioneering an innovative approach with the potential to disrupt the treatment landscape, moving beyond agents that merely slow the progression of hair loss to a treatment solution that actually helps to regrow hair.”
– Cathy Friedman, Executive Venture Partner, GV and Board Director, Pelage Pharmaceuticals
“The current therapeutic landscape is dominated by reformulations of existing products. Pelage is built on rigorous science and offers the opportunity to target the follicle stem cells directly. I am thrilled to work with the Pelage team to advance this discovery in pursuit of a novel non-invasive solution for all people who experience hair loss.”
– Dr. Weng
