Drug developerVeradermicssaid on Monday that its oral pill helped increase hair growth in men with pattern hair loss in a late-stage study.
Shares of the company were up 7.5% at $117 in premarket trading.
The company was testing its oral minoxidil formulation, called VDPHL01, in over 500 men with mild-to-moderate hair loss pattern.
The study met all main and secondary goals showing consistent benefits across patients and strong hair growth, while being generally well tolerated, with no serious side effects linked to the treatment, the company said.
The oral pill led to superior hair growth compared with placebo after six months.
The company plans to announce results from another portion of the study later this year.
“The key push back we hear is around the rationale for using VDPHL01 when inexpensive generic oral minoxidil is widely available. However, with these efficacy data, we believe the commercial case for VDPHL01 is now very strong,” said Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Prakhar Agrawal.
The company said Nutrafol, a Unilever-backed hair-growth supplement that costs about $90 a month or about $1,000 a year, is a good price benchmark for its drug.
VDPHL01 uses a special extended-release form of minoxidil designed to release the drug slowly over time.
Minoxidil is currently applied directly to the scalp as a topical treatment for hair loss in men and women.
Other companies developing novel treatments for hair loss include Pelage Pharmaceuticals and Cosmo Pharmaceuticals.