SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stemson Therapeutics announced today the addition of Kapil Bharti, Ph.D. and George Murphy, M.D. to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The addition of these distinguished leaders in the field significantly bolsters Stemson’s efforts to restore human hair growth with a novel cell regeneration technology using the patient’s own cells to generate new hair follicles.
“We are delighted and honored to welcome Dr. Bharti and Dr. Murphy to our SAB to enhance our world-class group of scientific advisors supporting the company,” said Stemson Therapeutics cofounder and Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Hamilton. “Dr. Bharti’s expertise in iPSC-derived therapeutics development, and Dr. Murphy’s expertise in skin, stem cells and hair follicle biology will accelerate our development of a breakthrough solution to regenerate hair follicles.”
Kapil Bharti, Ph.D. is a Senior Investigator at the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health. He is a world renowned expert in regenerative medicine, stem cell biology, and developmental biology of the eye. Dr. Bharti is leading the first Phase I/IIa clinical trial in the US using autologous iPSC-derived cells to treat the retinal pigment epithelium in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). His pioneering work in combining iPSC-derived cells together with scaffolds and transferring those solutions into cutting edge, highly controlled and compliant manufacturing processes positions him to guide Stemson’s efforts in similar areas.
“I am excited to join the SAB at Stemson Therapeutics and support their work to develop an autologous iPSC cell therapy to treat hair loss,” stated Dr. Bharti. “I look forward to leveraging my experience developing an autologous iPSC cell therapy for AMD to contribute to Stemson’s iPSC solution for hair loss patients.”
George Murphy, M.D. is Co-Director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) Skin Program, Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, and the Director of the Program in Dermatopathology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is a Harvard-trained skin pathologist with 40 years of experience as a physician-scientist focused on understanding the pathobiology of human and murine skin. He has authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications and numerous textbooks in the field of skin pathology and has maintained a continuously NIH-funded research lab for over 35 years. Through this Harvard-based research and his role at the HSCI, Dr. Murphy has a major interest in how the genetic and epigenetic factors and related microenvironmental niches participate in complex regenerative phenomena such as scarless wound healing and hair follicle cycling and neogenesis.
“I am enthusiastic to work with the team at Stemson Therapeutics. In Homo sapiens, the hair follicle is the most complex structure capable of cyclic involution followed by complete regeneration. If we can understand and replicate the pathways involved, a major breakthrough in regenerative medicine will be achieved, and induced pluripotent stem cell approaches to attaining this goal have the potential to be truly transformative,” said Dr. Murphy.
About Cell Regeneration Technology
Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) have the unique capability to replicate indefinitely and give rise to all cell types of the human body, including the cell types required for repair. iPSC-based technology is capable of producing the cell types required to initiate hair follicle growth. As a new therapeutic platform, iPSCs represent an emerging area of regenerative cell therapy. Stemson is one of a growing number of companies at the forefront in developing iPSC-based treatments.
About Stemson Therapeutics
Stemson Therapeutics is a pre-clinical stage cell therapy company founded in 2018 with a mission to cure hair loss by leveraging the regenerative power of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Based on the breakthrough innovation by Stemson Therapeutics co-founder, Dr. Alexey Terskikh, Stemson uses iPSC to regenerate the critical cells required to grow hair and which are damaged or depleted in patients suffering from hair loss. The iPSC-derived cells are used to grow de novo hair follicles, offering a new supply of hair to treat people suffering from various forms of Alopecia. Today, there are no available treatments capable of growing new hair follicles. Stemson’s world class team of scientists, advisors and collaborators are passionate about delivering a scientifically based, clinically tested cure for hair loss to the millions of hair loss sufferers who seek help for their hair loss condition. Stemson Therapeutics is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit www.stemson.com.
