Pelage Pharmaceuticals Aims to Revolutionize Hair Loss Treatment with Breakthrough Science

The biotech company's lead candidate PP405 has shown promising hair regrowth results, sparking excitement and investment in the once-stagnant alopecia market.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Pelage Pharmaceuticals, a small biotech company, has developed a hair loss treatment candidate called PP405 that has generated significant buzz and investment after early data showed it can spur faster hair regrowth than existing options. The company's leadership, consisting of CEO Dan Gil and Chief Medical Officer Christina Weng, are now focused on managing expectations and showcasing the strong scientific foundation behind PP405 as they prepare for late-stage trials and potential FDA approval.

Why it matters

Pelage's breakthrough represents the first major advancement in treating the most common form of hair loss, androgenetic alopecia, in decades. Current treatments like minoxidil and finasteride have limited efficacy and significant side effects, leaving many patients unsatisfied and willing to try unproven remedies. PP405's novel mechanism of reactivating dormant hair follicles could disrupt the stagnant hair loss market and provide a much-needed, scientifically-validated treatment option.

The details

PP405 works by activating stem cells in hair follicles to stimulate new hair growth, a process that reinvigorates follicles that had previously become dormant. In a Phase IIa trial, 31% of male patients with significant hair loss saw a greater than 20% increase in hair density just 4 weeks after completing treatment, much faster than the typical year-long timeline for existing therapies. Unlike other treatments that mainly spur the growth of thin, light-colored vellus hairs, PP405 appears to regrow thicker, pigmented terminal hairs.

  • The Phase IIa trial results for PP405 were published in June 2025.
  • Pelage raised $120 million in a Series B funding round in October 2025 to advance PP405 into late-stage trials.

The players

Pelage Pharmaceuticals

A biotech company developing a novel hair loss treatment candidate called PP405, which has shown promising results in early clinical trials.

Dan Gil

The CEO of Pelage Pharmaceuticals, leading the company's efforts to advance PP405 and manage the significant interest and excitement around the treatment.

Christina Weng

The Chief Medical Officer of Pelage Pharmaceuticals and a dermatologist who still sees patients with hair loss, providing the scientific expertise and clinical perspective to the company's work on PP405.

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What they’re saying

“We're scientists. It definitely reflects an increased consumer interest in good science. And I think that story, even without us doing the best job, necessarily, telling it, is taking off on its own.”

— Christina Weng, Chief Medical Officer, Pelage Pharmaceuticals (BioSpace)

“It's been kind of a dormant area of lotions and potions, and we're finally seeing people begin to recognize that there's actually a lot of really cool science to be done there.”

— Dan Gil, CEO, Pelage Pharmaceuticals (BioSpace)

What’s next

Pelage is now preparing to engage with the FDA to confirm the trial design and endpoints for the Phase III clinical trial of PP405, which will allow the company to secure an indication for treating androgenetic alopecia.

The takeaway

Pelage's breakthrough with PP405 represents a major advancement in the treatment of the most common form of hair loss, androgenetic alopecia. By harnessing the power of stem cell activation to regrow terminal hairs, PP405 could disrupt the stagnant hair loss market and provide patients with a much-needed, scientifically-validated treatment option beyond the limited and side-effect prone existing therapies.