Biotech investors have not often looked at a balding head of hair and been struck with inspiration, even on the rare occasions when a new treatment is pitched to them. More often, they’ve rolled their eyes before moving on to the next slide deck from a new cancer drug developer or AI-focused startup.
But a funny thing happened last month: Two startups — Pelage Pharmaceuticals and Veradermics — raised a combined $270 million to develop treatments for a common form of hair loss, known clinically as androgenetic alopecia.
Cathy Friedman, an executive venture partner at GV, initially scoffed at the idea of investing in a hair loss company, assuming it was peddling the kind of “lotions and potions” that have long promised hair growth but, in reality, did little. “We’re like, ‘I’m sorry, we’re GV. We do, like, science-based companies. We don’t do crazy hair loss [ventures],’” she recalled. In the end, though, she was swayed by Pelage and its stem cell therapy that promises to flip dormant hair follicles back into growth mode.
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