Of all the biotech startups with an eye on the hair loss market Samumed, headquartered in San Diego, are probably the one to follow – according to a recent article in Business Insider.
Samumed
We have been following the Samumed story for a while now. They first came to our attention back in 2015 following their announcement of a successful study which used one specific stem cell therapy to regenerate hair. It is the sort of press release guaranteed to catch our eye and made for interesting reading. Following successes in treating animals they had entered the first phase of a human trial with very encouraging early results… 75% reporting slowing of their hair loss and a truly impressive 37% reporting an increase in hair growth. You can see the original article here
We followed up that article with a couple more, about a year ago. The first, see it here, profiled Osman Kibar, the charismatic and remarkable CEO of Samumed. Turkish born Kibar set up two companies while still a Californian student, both of which would go on to be sold in deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Anecdotally, he was also, briefly, a fantastically successful poker player.
The profile of Kibar was followed up a month later with another update on the progress of his business. Under the admittedly strident headline “Has this company created the fountain of youth” we took a look at the latest results for their hair loss treatment. See that article here
Business Insider
Business Insider is a highly regarded global news agency which produces and aggregates stories from around the world. 1.3M facebook followers will tell you they are an important player with plenty of fans – the breadth of their coverage and reach is impressive.
Lydia Ramsey is a Business Insider journalist covering pharmaceutical and biotech. In a current article she is talking to the Samumed CFO, Cevdet Samikoglu, where he explains that starting with a promising molecule it is a ten year struggle to achieve success by turning it into a drug. Importantly, Samumed are not only developing a hair loss cure – they have a range of treatments in development which are all linked by a desire to extend human life by keeping us younger for longer. So rather than having all their eggs in one basket, with the attendant risk of a failed trial collapsing the company, theirs is a structure with plenty of foundations. The combination of excellent trial results, an impressive executive team and that spread of research has seen them raise $300M of private equity so far. If that is impressive then consider the current valuation of the business – if you wanted to acquire it today you would need a minimum of $12B.
HIS Hair Clinic
The work of Samumed and companies like them really matters. It is what medicine will become as we move away from a world of pills and stitches. We understand that the pace of medical trials means we are still many years away from a product but we applaud their efforts and wait patiently.
In the meantime, if you want to discuss your personal hair loss situation with one of our friendly team of experts at a free consultation then simply complete the contact form at the side of this page or click here to find your nearest clinic.