Follica Appoints Drug Development and Dermatology

[sengoku]

Follica Appoints Drug Development and Dermatology Veteran, William D. Ju, as Chief Executive Officer

PRNEWSWIRE

BOSTON, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Follica Inc., a privately held developer of novel therapies for androgenetic alopecia and other hair follicle and skin disorders, today announced that William D. Ju, M.D. has been appointed as president and chief executive officer. Dr. Ju succeeds Daphne Zohar, managing partner of PureTech Ventures, who was the Founding CEO of Follica. Dr. Ju will join existing Board members including Ms. Zohar, Mr. G. Kirk Raab, former CEO, Genentech, president and COO, Abbott and current chairman, Follica, Protalex, and Transcept, Dr. Kevin Bitterman, principal at Polaris Venture Partners, and Mr. Chris Ehrlich, general partner at InterWest Partners.

"We are thrilled to welcome Bill Ju as the CEO of Follica. He brings the ideal blend of dermatology and drug development experience, creativity and leadership skills to Follica in this next exciting phase of development," stated Ms. Zohar.

Dr. Ju is a board-certified dermatologist who has 17 years of biopharmaceutical experience in a wide variety of therapeutic areas, including dermatology. Prior to joining Follica, he was chief operating officer at PTC Therapeutics, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company. In that position, Dr. Ju played an important role in successfully leading and building the company from a discovery organization into a late-phase clinical and early-stage commercialization company. Since 2003 while he was there, Dr. Ju helped PTC triple in size, complete a $50 million Series E round, and enter into a partnership with Genzyme, the terms of which included a $100 million upfront payment, up to $337 million in milestones, and royalties on sales. Prior to PTC, he was vice president in research and development at Pharmacia Corporation and held executive positions at Merck Research Laboratories in a broad spectrum of product development functions. Dr. Ju served as project leader for SUTENT(R), introduced CANCIDAS(R) into humans, and was part of the registration team for CRIXIVAN(R). Dr. Ju began his pharmaceutical career at Hoffmann-La Roche where he was a clinical leader for the development of dermatology compounds. Before entering industry, he was a senior staff fellow in basic research in the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology and was affiliated with the Dermatology Branch at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Dr. Ju earned an A.B. at Princeton University and a M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

"I am honored and delighted to be joining Follica, whose breakthrough research opens up remarkable opportunities for the treatment of skin and hair disorders," commented Dr. Ju. "I am looking forward to applying my dermatologic, product development, and organizational experience gained in both large and small pharmaceutical company settings to translate Follica's powerful science in skin regeneration into treatments, such as restoring hair growth in people," he added.

 

[ClayShaw]

Was about to post this.
Won't post a long rant about how this won't work, etc., but personally, I don't expect Follica to be on the market in less than 10 years.

 

[Blondilocks]

10 years what a stupid thing to say!!!!!!

eerm lets see

1.they have just taken on board someone who gets good ideas to market, kinda says the pre-clinical did the job!

2.They have already claimed that they will not have to have a lengthy FDA route

3. No company can live off private finance for 10 years! No buisness sense there getting all this money because people expect a good return not in a year but in the next few

You will see follica alot faster than 10 years, just think how many things have changed in 10 years, its not like there re-inventing here...

They have the patents they have prrog of concept, now they are going to ensure it delivers substantial results so that it stands a million miles clear of propecia and regaine

They might take another 2 years ensuring the damn thing does what it says!

 

[ClayShaw]

10 years what a stupid thing to say!!!!!!

eerm lets see

1.they have just taken on board someone who gets good ideas to market, kinda says the pre-clinical did the job!

2.They have already claimed that they will not have to have a lengthy FDA route

3. No company can live off private finance for 10 years! No buisness sense there getting all this money because people expect a good return not in a year but in the next few

You will see follica alot faster than 10 years, just think how many things have changed in 10 years, its not like there re-inventing here...

They have the patents they have prrog of concept, now they are going to ensure it delivers substantial results so that it stands a million miles clear of propecia and regaine

They might take another 2 years ensuring the damn thing does what it says!

You're right...
I'm very pessimistic. Its just about me not getting my hopes up.
Also, as far as we know, they have proof of concept... in mice.

 

[Whoop]

No, we think they only have proof of concept in mice. We can't tell for sure they have it in human beings also. Follica chose to keep their processes silent for the media and I think that was a perfect choice. The internet is full of scepticism and pessimism when it comes to the cure of hairloss, why would they even bother to change that. I don't think Follica (or Intercytex/Aderands/etc. for that matter) gives a flying f*ck about how we think of them at this moment. When they find a cure, we'll be sending them flowers like there is now tomorrow.

Imo this new article is excellent news

 

[ClayShaw]

For those who think Follica will turn Patrick Stewart into Patrick Dempsey sometime before 2012, some questions.
1) Has anyone ever seen a picture of Follica results?
2) Can anyone confirm Follica has even done human trials?
3) Assuming Follica works (which is one hell of an assumption), how is the technique going to work for someone with a receding hairline? Given what we think we know about Follica's techniques (i.e. dermarolling), would a transplant not still be required to create a normal looking hairline? How would they prevent hair from growing on the forehead? I don't see this as a problem for someone with a bald spot in back... I mean, you just fill that in. But a hairline needs to be a little more precise, and I find it difficult to understand how dermarolling is going to create a nice, straight hairline. Even more so if they're actually creating "new" hair follicles.

 

[Ouroboros]

If the problem becomes having too much hair; I think I can deal with that

 

[ClayShaw]

If the problem becomes having too much hair; I think I can deal with that

True, but having to shave yourself a hairline would be a bit strange, although cool... "I feel like NW1 today, maybe NW2 next month..."

 

[Boondock]

I agree that this sounds like good news. Follica may end up overtaking Intercytex, for all we know.

With regard to too much hair, I imagine that's not in principle a problem. It's a lot easier to destroy hair follicles than create them. A blunt illustration of this is a burns victim - hair follicles die, they won't regrow. For a clinical application, laser hair removal seems to do the trick for many people. So I wouldn't be too worried about that, I'm more interested in how soon they'll be getting something to market.

 

[ClayShaw]

I agree that this sounds like good news. Follica may end up overtaking Intercytex, for all we know.

With regard to too much hair, I imagine that's not in principle a problem. It's a lot easier to destroy hair follicles than create them. A blunt illustration of this is a burns victim - hair follicles die, they won't regrow. For a clinical application, laser hair removal seems to do the trick for many people. So I wouldn't be too worried about that, I'm more interested in how soon they'll be getting something to market.

Fair enough.
I'd assume 10 years and hope for less.

 

[ClayShaw]

Wait just one hot f*****g minute here...

Kauffman Foundation Entrepreneur Fellowship Program Launches in Boston and Silicon Valley
Robert Buderi 1/8/09

Right now there’s really only one great educational institution for those who want to learn how to be an entrepreneur, and it’s called the School of Hard Knocks. That isn’t to say there aren’t some wonderful classes and programs in entrepreneurship at places like MIT, Stanford, and other universities. But those are typically short-lived courses with little, if any, hands-on training. In truth, there aren’t very many opportunities for hopeful entrepreneurs to learn first-hand about the career. And even if you have a passion for building your own business, it’s often incredibly hard to put in the time to do so without giving up your day job—and unless you are independently wealthy or a starving student already, that is often impossible to do.

Today, the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City, MO, is launching an ambitious program designed to help fill a big gap in the entrepreneurship world by providing two-year fellowships to allow would-be entrepreneurs to build their dream business—salaries and expenses paid—while working side-by-side with mentors who know how to do it. It’s called the Kauffman Entrepreneur Fellows program, and it’s being launched in partnership with three leading venture creation companies—two in Silicon Valley, and one right here in Boston. That would be PureTech Ventures, which is run by Xconomist Daphne Zohar.

Zohar says the opportunity to have one or more fellows at PureTech fills a big void and helps both the entrepreneur and the host company. “It’s an entrepreneurial initiative and something that doesn’t exist†anywhere else, she says of the program. PureTech and Kauffman each pay half a fellow’s salary, so PureTech gets a motivated worker at a bargain rate to help it explore new ideas and hopefully launch companies. The fellow, of course, gets financial security and stability and first-hand training—and not just for a semester, but for two years. After that time, the fellow could potentially join one of the companies he or she helped form, or perhaps stay with PureTech.


That Thomas Whitfield guy is one of these Kaufmann scholars, and PureTech has "one or more fellows" working for them... Hmm...
Here's a link to a list of the "global scholars" this year.
http://sites.kauffman.org/globalscholars/meet.cfm
I can't find one more likely than Whitfield to be working for a medical company. He's a biochem guy...
I dont know if thats what they mean by "fellows", and its a stretch, sure, but... an interesting one.
Something might actually be going on here...

 

[Whoop]

Nice research man!

 

[Nighthair]

does this mean follica is readying to put their products on the market?

 

[Ouroboros]

Very interesting; can anyone dig up any more dirt?

 

[Smooth]

Whats up with that f*****g company, thought they would at least have something by now... :dunno:

 

[Slime707]

Nice find, but I think this Thomas Whitfield guy is at InCube labs (one of the companies in Silicon Valley) not PureTech. I still think Whitfield's got something, though..........

 

[metropolis]

[...] "I am honored and delighted to be joining Follica, whose breakthrough research opens up remarkable opportunities for the treatment of skin and hair disorders," commented Dr. Ju. "I am looking forward to applying my dermatologic, product development, and organizational experience gained in both large and small pharmaceutical company settings to translate Follica's powerful science in skin regeneration into treatments, such as restoring hair growth in people," he added.

I have no idea how Follica works and who this Mr Ju is, but I do know this:

- Mr Ju is obviously a talented capitalist with one hell of a résumé

- If someone as talented, experienced and greedy as this guy is 'honored and delighted' to join Follica, we may have good reasons to trust this company

- Hairloss is still a taboo in our society; instead of 'baldness cure' they say 'treatment of skin and hair disorders'

- This is why the United States of America is the greatest country in the world. Americans are smart, they value talent and are constantly looking for good brains, regardless of nationality or politics: in my country (Portugal), by the contrary, all that matters is family ties.

 

[ClayShaw]

[...] "I am honored and delighted to be joining Follica, whose breakthrough research opens up remarkable opportunities for the treatment of skin and hair disorders," commented Dr. Ju. "I am looking forward to applying my dermatologic, product development, and organizational experience gained in both large and small pharmaceutical company settings to translate Follica's powerful science in skin regeneration into treatments, such as restoring hair growth in people," he added.

I have no idea how Follica works and who this Mr Ju is, but I do know this:

- Mr Ju is obviously a talented capitalist with one hell of a résumé

- If someone as talented, experienced and greedy as this guy is 'honored and delighted' to join Follica, we may have good reasons to trust this company

- Hairloss is still a taboo in our society; instead of 'baldness cure' they say 'treatment of skin and hair disorders'

- This is why the United States of America is the greatest country in the world. Americans are smart, they value talent and are constantly looking for good brains, regardless of nationality or politics: in my country (Portugal), by the contrary, all that matters is family ties.

I've always thought Follica has the best chance of all of them to release something effective in the short term. If they're correct in assuming they don't need FDA trials, the "10 years" thing doesn't necessairly apply.

If they do need FDA trials, I share the opinion of someone on another site:

"I'm not really worried about the FDA. Proof of concept. If they can nail that, then the rest will fall into place pretty quickly IMO, the proof of concept is the big thing. There's a very American-centric POV on these boards which is natural, but in reality, this would be a billion-dollar industry over night, if they can get it to work and have a reasonable safety protocol there would be billions to make immediately in other countries. Maybe it would take 10+ years to get in the US, but Asia or Europe? Who knows."

 

[dimitar_berbagod]

This is why the United States of America is the greatest country in the world. ----------------------------------------------------------------

Without wishing to offend the Americans on this forum, I could think of a hell of a lot of people who would disagree with that.

 

[metropolis]

[...] I've always thought Follica has the best chance of all of them to release something effective in the short term. [...]

I hope you're right. My personal favorite is Intercytex, simply because Follica has been so secretive about its treatment - there have been press reports but very few details and a lot of unanswered questions.