The landscape of oral medication options for hair loss hasn’t changed very much over the past few decades. Oral finasteride (aka Propecia) was approved by the FDA for the treatment of hair loss in men in 1997, and doctors began prescribing oral minoxidil (which is approved to treat hypertension) off-label in the 2010s. And that’s pretty much it. But we might not be all that far away from one of the most significant developments in the hair-loss field in decades: a reimagining of oral minoxidil.
Biopharmaceutical company Veradermics announced this week that it has secured financing for the phase three trials it needs to get FDA approval for a drug, currently known as VDPHL01, that would be the first extended-release oral minoxidil treatment designed specifically for hair regrowth in women and men.
While topical minoxidil (you probably know it by its most popular brand name, Rogaine) is indicated specifically for treating hair loss, oral minoxidil is only FDA-approved for the treatment of hypertension. So while oral minoxidil has been shown to have the ability to regrow hair, it’s technically being used “off label” when prescribed for hair loss—as it often is today, even available as adorable little gummies through online providers like Hers.
But despite its proven efficacy, oral minoxidil isn’t a perfect hair growth medication, which is what Veradermics aims to change with its new version of the drug. “Minoxidil comes into the body very rapidly. It spikes, and then it goes away, because it wants to rapidly lower your blood pressure. Great for blood pressure; not ideal for treating hair loss,” board-certified dermatologist and Veradermics CEO Reid Waldman, MD, tells Allure. “We saw an opportunity to take this ingredient that we recognize works for hair growth and optimize it for oral administration, hair growth, and cardiac safety by changing the way in which it interacts with your body.” With VDPHL01, Dr. Waldman explains, Veradermics intends to extend the length of time during which minoxidil is released throughout the body, allowing for sustained exposure at the hair follicle level while also avoiding spikes that can cause cardiac events. In other words, more hair-growth benefits and fewer risks.
“Nothing, nothing has been new in the field of androgenetic hair loss for almost three decades,” says Jerry Shapiro, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and dermatology professor at New York University who was involved in earlier clinical trials for VDPHL01. (Androgenetic alopecia is otherwise known as male and female pattern hair loss.) “I’m excited that there’s something new, and also something [approved] for women, because there was really nothing except for topical minoxidil… and we need more things for women that are effective and that are approved by the FDA.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.allure.com
