Veradermics, a dermatologist-founded, late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class treatments for common dermatologic conditions, has announced the completion of an oversubscribed $150 million Series C financing round. The funding round was led by SR One, with participation from major life sciences investors including Viking Global Investors, Marshall Wace, Invus, abrdn Inc., Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Infinitium, LifeSci Venture Partners, and returning investors Longitude Capital, Suvretta Capital Management, and Surveyor Capital (a Citadel company), among others.
As part of the financing, Dr. Katarina Pance, Investor at SR One, has joined Veradermics’ Board of Directors. The investment will also fund the continued advancement of VDPHL01, the company’s lead investigational therapy and the potential first extended-release oral minoxidil designed for hair regrowth in both women and men.
Veradermics plans to use the proceeds to complete multiple ongoing Phase 3 clinical trials and prepare a New Drug Application (NDA) submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for VDPHL01. If approved, the therapy could become the first and only extended-release oral minoxidil for the treatment of pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) — a condition affecting an estimated 80 million Americans and representing one of the largest aesthetic markets globally, projected to exceed $30 billion by 2028.
VDPHL01 is designed to address the limitations of current hair regrowth treatments. Traditional topical minoxidil formulations, such as 5% Rogaine, suffer from low adherence rates and limited efficacy, with nearly 90% of users discontinuing treatment. Meanwhile, immediate-release oral minoxidil, though sometimes used off-label, poses safety and tolerability concerns due to spikes in plasma drug concentration leading to potential cardiac effects.
Veradermics’ proprietary extended-release technology aims to overcome these challenges by maintaining controlled and consistent drug exposure to hair follicles, promoting faster and more robust hair regrowth while minimizing cardiac risk. Preliminary Phase 2 results in male participants have demonstrated visible and measurable hair growth as early as two months, with continued improvement through four months, and no serious adverse events reported to date.
The company has now launched three multicenter, randomized Phase 3 trials in both women and men to evaluate further VDPHL01’s safety and efficacy (NCT06724614, NCT06972264, and NCT07146022). Veradermics’ research continues to highlight the unmet need in this category, as no new FDA-approved prescription therapies for pattern hair loss have been introduced in nearly three decades.
KEY QUOTES:
“We believe VDPHL01 represents the rare convergence of scientific innovation, favorable preliminary clinical data, and potential commercial opportunity. For the first time, we’re seeing an oral therapeutic candidate designed specifically for hair regrowth that has the potential to achieve consistent efficacy without compromising safety. We believe that VDPHL01, if approved, can represent a front-line product for one of the largest aesthetics conditions worldwide. We are very proud to back Veradermics as they advance a program that could meaningfully impact both patient outcomes and the dermatology market at large.”
Dr. Katarina Pance, Investor at SR One
“As a dermatologist, I’ve seen firsthand the emotional toll of pattern hair loss and watched as patients have had to settle for inconvenient, poorly tolerated, or off-label, non-clinically validated treatments. We built Veradermics to change that. With VDPHL01, we’ve engineered an extended-release oral formulation of minoxidil that we believe can maximize hair growth potential while minimizing cardiac risks to safely regrow hair. We’re thrilled to see early indications of this playing out in the clinic, with preliminary Phase 2 data in males on VDPHL01 that indicate visible, measurable regrowth as early as two months. Backed by a strong syndicate in this financing, including current and new investors, we aim to deliver on the potential promise of VDPHL01 and bring a new prescription option forward that could meaningfully impact the lives of millions of women and men with this potentially distressing condition.”
Dr. Reid Waldman, Chief Executive Officer, Veradermics
“As a clinician and researcher, I have not seen an investigational therapy for hair loss indicate the potential for quick results like VDPHL01 based on two- and four-month data. Looking forward to the complete VDPHL01 Phase 2 and Phase 3 data, I believe VDPHL01 could become the new benchmark for treating pattern hair loss in both women and men.”
Dr. Jerry Shapiro, Professor of Dermatology, NYU School of Medicine, and Advisor to Veradermics
