Pelage Pharmaceuticals grabbed spot number 9 in Fierce Biotech’s 2026 Fierce 15

Activating stem cells to offer a superior option to stimulate hair growth

CEO: Daniel Gil, Ph.D.
Founded: 2018
Based: Los Angeles
Clinical focus: Hair loss

What makes Pelage fierce: Pelage is developing a novel treatment for the more than 80 million Americans affected by hair loss. Because existing treatments have safety, tolerability and efficacy limitations, CEO Daniel Gil, Ph.D., estimates that only 5 million to 10 million people have tried one of the existing products and that satisfaction with the current options is low.

The figures point to a vast untapped market and, as Gil noted, "we're all becoming more self-conscious about our appearance" in an era when seeing yourself on a screen is a daily occurrence. He pointed to the success of GLP-1s as evidence that people are willing to pay to change how they look.

Investors are alert to the opportunity. Pelage raised a $120 million series B round in October 2025 backed by the likes of GV (Google Ventures). Months later, Veradermics showed how hot the hair-loss space can be when it raised $256 million in an IPO. Public investors flocked to Veradermics, quadrupling its value over the following months.

While Veradermics is developing an oral version of Rogaine, an existing hair-loss drug, Pelage has a novel approach to the age-old search for a cure to baldness. Building on UCLA research, Pelage has created a topical small molecule, PP405, designed to reactivate dormant hair follicle stem cells.

Follicles naturally shift between growing phases and resting phases, with stem cells driving a cycle in which hair sprouts, falls out and sprouts again. As people lose hair, a growing percentage of follicles can get stuck in the resting phase. The stem cells and follicles are still there, but they stop turning on. The UCLA research underpinning Pelage uncovered the mechanism that activates hair follicle stem cells.

By reactivating stem cells, PP405 is designed to cause hair to grow from dormant follicles, differentiating the candidate from drugs that primarily increase growth from active follicles. Pelage's phase 2 trial offered support for the mechanism and allayed safety and tolerability concerns. A drug that activates all stem cells could cause adverse events, but PP405 showed a strong safety profile and evidence of new hair growth from previously dormant follicles.

Building on the mid-stage data, Pelage plans to start a late-stage program this year. The biotech is exploring imaging technologies that could help differentiate PP405 by showing it causes hair growth from dormant follicles. Standard assessments are unable to tell whether a hair is growing from an active or previously dormant site, fueling Pelage's interest in technologies capable of tracking changes in active follicles.

Gil expects the trial to enroll quickly, reflecting high levels of public interest in hair-loss treatments. But that interest is "a bit of a double-edged sword," he said.

The CEO, who spent 30 years at Botox developer Allergan, said he has "never developed a drug where there's so much knowledge and interest in it." That interest should drive fast enrollment, but means a market for counterfeit PP405 already exists.

Pelage is also relying on trial sites "to be careful in terms of how they're screening patients for enrollment," Gil said, reflecting the potential of products such as over-the-counter supplements, GLP-1s and testosterone to affect hair growth.

"If those people are coming into the trial, it creates a lot more noise," Gil said. "It makes it harder to be able to show an effect. It's one of the things we're very focused on: What are the inclusion/exclusion criteria? How do we design the trial in a way that we can minimize a lot of this noise?"

Pelage took PP405 to the cusp of phase 3 with seven to eight full-time staff supported by consultants, Gil said. The biotech is hiring as it moves into larger trials, doubling in size this year, but limiting cash burn is a guiding principle. Gil sees potential for the lean, independent model to work for commercialization, noting that telemedicine and online sales have reduced the need for large sales teams.

The growing team is advancing PP405 in men, the focus of the $120 million series B, while stepping up development in women. Currently, women have even more limited options than men, informing Gil's view that the female market is at least as big as the male opportunity.

Pelage needs more money to go after this additional market, Gil said, so the company will pursue additional raises.

Investors: ARCH Venture Partners, GV, Main Street Advisors, Visionary Ventures and YK Bioventures.

Link to full article: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/introducing-fierce-biotechs-2026-fierce-15