Veradermics’ IPO comes several months after the biotech locked in a $150 million series C financing round.
With an oversubscribed trading debut now in the books, Veradermics—developing an oral version of the molecule behind Rogaine—is well coiffed to tap into the increasingly lush opportunity for hair regrowth drugs.In its initial public offering, the Connecticut biotech sold a little over 15 million shares of common stock at $17 apiece, raising a total of $256.3 million in its entry onto the New York Stock Exchange, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. Veradermics is trading under the symbol "MANE."Shares of the company soared on its public debut, closing at $37.75 a pop on Wednesday, Feb. 4—more than double the price Veradermics set for its IPO.Veradermics joins a growing class of biotechs striking out on stock markets this year, and the enthusiasm behind its public market arrival comes amid a series of broader moves by biotechs looking to develop drugs for pattern hair loss.In a sign of the growing support behind Veradermics, the company noted in its SEC filing that Eli Lilly telegraphed an interest in purchasing up to 4.9% of the number of shares issued, while investment management firm Wellington Management said it was interested in buying up to $30 million in shares at Veradermics’ IPO price point. Veradermics’ IPO comes several months after the biotech locked in a $150 million series C financing round, which the company said it would use to bolster ongoing phase 3 studies for its lead program VDPHL01, an extended-release oral formulation of minoxidil.Minoxidil was first approved in the 1980s and is more commonly known as the ubiquitous hair regrowth treatment Rogaine. Rogaine is a topical treatment, however, and nearly 90% of patients discontinue its use due to the product’s “messy” application, Veradermics has argued.The company figures this formulation gap could give its oral candidate a fighting chance in the massive market for hair loss treatments.Still, Veradermics already has some competition looming. Around the same time it closed its last financing round, Pelage Pharmaceuticals—developing its own, topical asset for pattern hair loss—secured a $120 million series B round led by Arch Venture Partners and Google Ventures.And, toward the end of 2025, Cosmo Pharmaceuticals benefited from a share price bump after it unveiled a pair of phase 3 wins for its topical cream clascoterone in male-pattern hair loss. Cosmo’s subsidiary Cassiopea won FDA approval for clascoterone in 2020 as an acne treatment under the brand name Winlevi.Veradermics is one of several biotechs to go public or plot an IPO in early 2026.Thursday, Eikon Therapeutics embarked onto the Nasdaq with an upsized $381 million IPO. The oncology drug developer is offering 21.2 million shares in its debut, above the 17.6 million shares it had said it planned to offer last week. Meanwhile, Flagship Pioneering-founded Generate:Biomedicines is also weighing going public. While the biotech has yet to determine the number of shares it will offer, or at what price, Generate noted in a SEC filing Wednesday that the proceeds would primarily be used to support its anti-TSLP antibody GB-0895, which is currently running through two phase 3 studies in severe asthma, plus an early-stage trial in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.In a further sign of the brightening appeal of the public markets, Aktis Oncology also pulled off an IPO last month, while outfits like ophthalmology-focused SpyGlass Pharma and immunology biotech Agomab Therapeutics have expressed a recent interest in doing so.