The success of the hair loss pill trials has boosted the developer's stock price. Should you buy them?

Shares of biotech company Veradermics rose 12.4% on October 19—the company reported successful trials of its hair loss treatment. After six months of taking the tablets, participants experienced more pronounced hair growth compared to the placebo group. In the future, it could become the first FDA-approved non-hormonal oral medication for treating hair loss in the 50 million men in the U.S.

Shares of Veradermics—the developer of a tablet form of medication for androgenetic alopecia (male-pattern baldness)— soared 12.4% to $122.3 during trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, October 19.

Since the market opened on October 20, Veradermics' stock price has fallen by about 4%.

The company reported that its drug met all primary and secondary endpoints in the second Phase 3 clinical trial: hair growth in patients who received the drug was significantly greater than in the placebo group.

The company is developing a drug called VDPHL01—an oral, sustained-release form of minoxidil. The most recent trial involved 536 men with mild to moderate male-pattern hair loss. The drug stimulated significant hair growth in patients: hair count increased by 28.6 hairs per square centimeter when taken once daily and by 36.4 hairs per square centimeter when taken twice daily. The placebo group showed a result of 6.6 hairs. The company presented comparable results in April based on the findings of another study. In total, more than a thousand men participated in these studies.

According to the company, the drug was generally well tolerated over the course of six months of treatment and could become the first non-hormonal oral medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of hair loss in the 50 million men in the United States.

“The results showed that our patented sustained-release formulation, VDPHL01, significantly enhances hair growth while reducing the severity of side effects and cardiovascular risks, — said Reed Waldman, M.D., CEO of Veradermics. — “VDPHL01 has the potential to fundamentally change the approach to treating androgenetic alopecia in millions of people.”

Minoxidil has long been used to treat hair loss, primarily as a topical treatment, according to Reuters. It is the active ingredient in Rogaine, a medication applied to the scalp. Doctors also prescribe minoxidil in pill form to treat hair loss, although its use is not officially approved for this purpose—it is intended for the treatment of severe hypertension.

Veradermics points out that the concentration of minoxidil that affects the heart is about ten times higher than that needed to stimulate hair growth. The VDPHL01 formula is designed to maintain the desired concentration through sustained-release delivery.

The Nutrafol hair growth supplement, which costs about $90 a month or roughly $1,000 a year, can serve as a benchmark for the price of the new drug, said Mark Neumann, Veradermics’ director of commercial strategy, during a conference call with investors. By comparison, minoxidil tablets cost about $28 a month at retail pharmacies.

The company plans to publish data on the results of 12 months of treatment later in 2026, and the key results of the study in women are expected to be published in the first half of 2027.

To finance the most costly phase of clinical trials and prepare for the product’s commercial launch, Veradermics raised $294.8 million in an IPO in February 2026. The company sold 17.3 million shares at $17 per share. By the close of trading on October 19, the shares were trading at more than seven times the IPO price.

“The main objection we hear concerns the appropriateness of using VDPHL01, given the widespread availability of an inexpensive generic oral minoxidil. However, given the efficacy data we’ve seen, we believe the commercial prospects for VDPHL01 are now very compelling,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Prakar Agrawal told Reuters .

All seven Wall Street analysts who cover the company recommend buying its stock. The average price target is $164.8, which is 35% higher than the current market price.