Funding raised for new alopecia technology
- By Susan Whitford
- Published 15th August, 2008
- Hair News
- Unrated
Susan Whitford
Susan Whitford has twelve years experience as a health and beauty journalist in the United Kingdom. Susan has worked as a staff writer and features editor on a number of consumer magazines.
Follica Inc., an American developer of therapies for androgenetic alopecia and other hair follicle disorders, has announced that it has raised an additional $11 million in funding. Androgenetic alopecia is male and female pattern hair loss in genetically susceptible men and women.
Follica was co-founded by PureTech Ventures and a group of academic dermatologists from Harvard, UCSF and the University of Pennsylvania to address the critical issue of alopecia. The $11 million was provided by Polaris Venture Partners, after the company received investment from InterWest Partners in January.
Unlike currently available hair loss treatments that attempt to stimulate existing hair follicles, this technology provides for the first time, the potential to generate completely new hair follicles.
In a paper published in May 2007 in the journal Nature, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine used technology licensed by Follica to stimulate completely new hair follicles for the first time in normal adult mammals.
Functionality of new hair follicles that form after disruption is perfectly normal. The follicles cycle through the normal stages of hair growth and exhibit normal architecture, including a full complement of stem cells.
Follica was co-founded by PureTech Ventures and a group of academic dermatologists from Harvard, UCSF and the University of Pennsylvania to address the critical issue of alopecia. The $11 million was provided by Polaris Venture Partners, after the company received investment from InterWest Partners in January.
Unlike currently available hair loss treatments that attempt to stimulate existing hair follicles, this technology provides for the first time, the potential to generate completely new hair follicles.
In a paper published in May 2007 in the journal Nature, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine used technology licensed by Follica to stimulate completely new hair follicles for the first time in normal adult mammals.
Functionality of new hair follicles that form after disruption is perfectly normal. The follicles cycle through the normal stages of hair growth and exhibit normal architecture, including a full complement of stem cells.