Androgenetic alopecia
1 As of June 30, 2022, PureTech’s percentage ownership of Follica was approximately 75.9% on an outstanding voting share basis. We have a right to royalty payments as a percentage of net sales from Follica.
2 Therapeutic candidates are investigational and have not been cleared by the FDA for use in the U.S.
Building a regenerative biology platform for androgenetic alopecia, epithelial aging and other related conditions
Follica is developing a regenerative biology platform designed to treat androgenetic alopecia, epithelial aging and other related indications. Follica’s approach is based on generating the “embryonic window” in adults via a series of skin disruptions, stimulating stem cells causing new hair follicles to grow. We believe that Follica’s technology is the first observed to create new follicles of hair, followed by the application of specific compounds to enhance the effort.
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Program Discovery Process by the PureTech Team
- We were interested in conditions of aging and focused on hair follicles given their importance in regulating human hair and skin rejuvenation across many medical conditions. We engaged leading dermatologists and hair follicle experts and identified and in-licensed intellectual property from George Cotsarelis, M.D., the Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, on hair follicle neogenesis, or HFN, prior to its publication in the journal Nature. We translated the academic work into an in-office procedure after testing a number of modalities for initiating HFN, identified and co-invented intellectual property around modalities and drug compounds to enhance the newly formed hair follicles and helped conduct multiple POC studies to prioritize HFN inducing modalities and prioritize potential drug compounds.
- Follica’s core technology and patent suite has been developed in collaboration with leading researchers, building on the work of Dr. Cotsarelis. Follica’s other key scientific advisors include Richard Rox Anderson, M.D., Chairman of the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Ken Washenik, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director of Bosley and the Executive Vice President of Scientific and Medical Development of the Aderans Research Institute.
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Patient Need & Market Potential
- Androgenetic alopecia represents the most common form of hair loss in men and women, with an estimated 90 million people who are eligible for treatment in the U.S alone. Additionally, the market is estimated to be over $1 billion in the U.S. and $3.5 billion globally. Only two drugs, both of which have demonstrated a 12% increase of non-vellus hair count over baseline for their primary endpoints, are currently approved for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. The most effective current approach for the treatment of hair loss is hair transplant surgery, comprising a range of invasive, expensive procedures for a subset of patients who have enough donor hair to be eligible. As a result, Follica believes that there is significant unmet need for safe, effective, non-surgical treatments which grow new hair. Follica’s regenerative biology platform has potential applications beyond hair growth to other aging-related conditions and wound healing, such as facial skin rejuvenation.
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Milestones Achieved & Development Status
- In January 2021, Follica announced the appointment of two leaders in aesthetic medicine and dermatology to its Board of Directors. Tom Wiggans, former Chief Executive Officer of Dermira, joined as Executive Chairman with over 30 years of experience leading biopharmaceutical companies from the start-up stage to global commercialization, and Michael Davin, former Chief Executive Officer of Cynosure, joined as an Independent Director with over 30 years of experience in the medical device industry.
- In 2021, Follica continued to advance its regenerative biology platform, including preparing for a registration clinical program in male androgenetic alopecia.
- In December 2020, Follica announced the publication of a pilot study evaluating scalp skin disruption to promote hair growth in female pattern hair loss in International Journal of Women’s Dermatology. The pilot study, led by Maryanne M. Senna, M.D., an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School, demonstrated the treatment promoted hair growth over a four-month course of treatment.
- In June 2020, Follica announced the completion of a successful End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA for its lead program to treat male androgenetic alopecia, which supports the progression into Phase 3 development.
- In the three previously conducted clinical studies of patients with androgenetic alopecia, Follica demonstrated hair follicle neogenesis via biopsy following skin disruption and hair growth through target area hair count. One of these studies demonstrated that skin disruption alone generates not only new hair follicles but also terminal (visible, thick) hairs. Follica has been optimizing its device and conducting tests in androgenetic alopecia and other medical indications and is further developing and testing compounds that enhance the newly formed follicles and hairs.
- In December 2019, Follica announced topline results from the safety and efficacy optimization study of its lead candidate to treat hair loss in male androgenetic alopecia. The study was designed to select the optimal treatment regimen using Follica’s proprietary device in combination with a topical drug and successfully met its primary endpoint. The selected treatment regimen demonstrated a statistically significant 44% improvement of non-vellus (visible) hair count after three months of treatment compared to baseline (p < 0.001, n = 19). Across all three treatment arms, the overall improvement of non-vellus hair count after three months of treatment was 29% compared to baseline (p < 0.001, n = 48), reflecting a clinical benefit across the entire study population and a substantially improved outcome seen with the optimal treatment regimen. Additionally, a prespecified analysis comparing the 44% change in non-vellus hair count to a 12% historical benchmark set by approved pharmaceutical products established statistical significance (p = 0.005).
- The study was an endpoint-blinded, randomized, controlled study designed to establish therapeutic parameters for Follica’s proprietary HFN device in combination with a topical on-market drug. The study involved a less than five-minute in-office experimental scalp procedure using the HFN and evaluated the optimal frequency and number of treatments across three arms. The study consisted of 48 men aged 18 to 40 who had moderate grades of androgenetic alopecia as determined by the Hamilton Norwood III-IV scale. The regimen was well tolerated across all treatment arms with no reported SAEs. No AEs were related to device treatment. A single non-severe event (headache) was determined to be related to use of the drug and is in line with minor side effects seen from treatment with the approved drug alone.
- Follica has studied the potential for its proprietary device approach to address other regenerative conditions, including female pattern hair loss and facial skin rejuvenation.
Note: Follica has an active IND on file with the FDA for FOL-004. Our board designees represent a majority of the members of the board of directors of Follica, but Follica has its own independent management team. In January 2021, Tom Wiggans joined as Executive Chairman and Michael Davin joined as an independent member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Wiggans has over 30 years of experience and most recently co-founded and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dermira. Mr. Davin also has over 30 years of experience, including 14 years as Chief Executive Officer at Cynosure. PureTech’s role in the development of Follica’s therapeutic candidates is through our representation on its board of directors and our role as a majority shareholder. Follica is well-protected with a robust intellectual property portfolio. Follica was incorporated in July 2005.
Follica is developing a regenerative platform that is designed to induce an “embryonic window” in adults via a device with optimized parameters to initiate hair follicle neogenesis, the formation of new hair follicles from epithelial (skin) stem cells. This process is enhanced through the application of a topical compound.
Press Releases
PureTech Founded Entity Follica Adds Two Leaders in Aesthetic Medicine and Dermatology to its Board of Directors
January 14, 2021
PureTech Founded Entity Follica Announces Pilot Study for Female Pattern Hair Loss Published in International Journal of Women's Dermatology
December 9, 2020
PureTech Founded Entity Follica Announces Positive Feedback from FDA as it Prepares to Advance its Lead Programme in Male Androgenetic Alopecia into Phase 3 Development
June 4, 2020
PureTech Health Affiliate Follica Announces Positive Topline Data from Clinical Study in Male Androgenetic Alopecia
December 19, 2019
Follica Announces Positive Interim Data and Progression to Pivotal Study in Male Androgenetic Alopecia
June 13, 2019
A pilot evaluation of scalp skin wounding to promote hair growth in female pattern hair loss
December 2020
Regulatory T cells in skin facilitate epithelial stem cell differentiation
June 2017
Fgf9 from dermal γδ T cells induces hair follicle neogenesis after wounding
July 2013
Wnt-dependent de novo hair follicle regeneration in adult mouse skin after wounding
May 2007