The course “Goodbye to Baldness? Science Responds with the Latest Advances in the Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia”, taking place at the CV2026, will explore how cutting-edge research is transforming the field — from new pharmacological therapies to innovations in hair regeneration and cell therapy.

Hotel Dorma Victoria
June 29, 2026

Register and apply for your grant
Registration Form

More information about the course
Course Information

The doctor is leading a project that has achieved up to 100% success in mice and could be available within 5 to 7 years to treat alopecia, as he explained on Herrera en COPE.

A Spanish study may be close to finding a solution to common baldness. A team led by Eduardo López Bran, Head of Dermatology at Hospital Clínico San Carlos, has developed an experimental cell therapy that has managed to reverse hair loss in mice with a success rate close to 100%. The doctor himself explained this on Herrera en COPE, where he detailed the progress of a project that opens the door to restoring hair with a single injection.

An injection to regenerate the follicle

Unlike current treatments, which focus on thickening existing hair, this new experimental cell therapy aims to go a step further. The goal is to inject stem cells into the scalp so they can differentiate and generate new hair follicles where they no longer existed. According to the doctor, the ultimate objective is “to ensure that, with the administration of the therapy in a single injection, the stem cells we deliver are able to produce new hair follicles again.”

Results in the animal model are very promising. The therapy achieved hair regrowth in 90% of male mice and 100% of females in which alopecia had been induced. Despite this success, Eduardo López Bran urges caution until the results are confirmed in humans. “If we are able to translate the successes achieved in the animal model to human trials, it will be very good news for all those patients—men and women—who suffer from androgenetic alopecia, or common baldness,” he noted.

Timelines and safety: next steps

Before reaching patients, the treatment must go through several stages. The team is currently preparing to carry out the preclinical safety studies required by regulatory authorities. Once its safety is confirmed, clinical trials in humans would begin, potentially starting at the end of this year or early 2027. If all phases progress as expected, the drug could be approved and available to patients within a period of 5 to 7 years.

Another key point for the project’s scientific director, Eduardo López Bran, is accessibility. Although the research involves high costs, he has emphasized that the treatment should reach the market at a reasonable price. “I believe that if this treatment does not have a reasonable price, it would not be a good treatment for patients,” he stated. His aim is for it to be accessible to everyone, especially young people, for whom alopecia can cause “significant concern and a major loss of self-esteem.”

Spain, a country of bald people

The announcement of this breakthrough is particularly significant in Spain, as it is the country with the highest prevalence of baldness in the world. Eduardo López Bran attributes this high incidence to racial factors, noting that “the Caucasian population has a higher incidence of androgenetic alopecia than other groups.” He also points out that factors such as “a very hectic lifestyle” may further accentuate genetic predisposition in the Spanish population.

The researcher himself, who suffers from “advanced baldness” and is not a good candidate for a hair transplant due to the characteristics of his skin and donor area, has admitted that he hopes to benefit from this cell therapy in the future. Eduardo López Bran concluded: “I will make my scalp, my head available if I am accepted and meet the criteria for the clinical trials as soon as they are available.”

More info: COPE

Read more: ABC

The presence and leadership of women are growing across different sectors, from technology to craftsmanship and law, highlighting their strength and influence in today’s business landscape.

This does not mean that all the work has been done to achieve parity in entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurship is the path many women choose to pursue their dreams.

Marisa Berenguer: Farmalider and Idea Therapeutics

Since 2022, Marisa Berenguer Muñoz has been the CEO of Farmalider, a 100% Spanish pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that has been operating since 1986.

Berenguer has been linked to the company’s board since 1997, initially as an advisor and also involved in governance matters. Now, as CEO, she leads the strategy, development, and international expansion of prescription medicines, over-the-counter drugs, and everyday pharmaceutical products for health care (divisions also known as MED (Rx), OTC, and Consumer Health). She is also responsible for coordinating all actions related to licensing and partnerships.

In addition, Berenguer is leading an innovative initiative to diversify the company. She is the CEO and founder of Idea Therapeutics, focused on advanced therapies. Through this company, AGAcell is being developed — a cellular platform currently in the research phase aimed at offering a treatment for androgenetic alopecia. Thanks to this work, she was recently recognized by the Spanish Association of Women Entrepreneurs (ASEME) as Entrepreneur of the Year.

Research into a new therapy based on the use of stem cells to treat the most common type of baldness—caused by genetic factors—has been one of the main highlights of the FUE ASIA congress, held in India from last Friday through Monday. The principal investigator of the AGACell project, Dr. Eduardo López Bran, participated in the congress as one of the guests of honor, where he delivered a lecture presenting his methodology, the current status of the research, and the results he expects to achieve.

“Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) can be reversed with cell therapy.” This is demonstrated by the successful results of the research I lead at the San Carlos University Clinical Hospital in Madrid,” said the head of the hospital’s Dermatology Department and director of the specialized IMEMA clinic, as reported to EFE Salud.

Held in the Indian city of Hyderabad, FUE ASIA is considered the world’s most important global meeting of medical specialists dedicated to combating hair loss, bringing together around 700 medical and academic representatives from more than 20 countries across Asia, North America, Ibero-America, and Europe.

Many people try to prevent or alleviate it, but that is not always possible. For everyone who is losing hair and worried about alopecia, the nurse and well-known social media content creator with six million followers on TikTok, Jorge Ángel, answered the most frequently asked question: “Is the end of baldness approaching? Possibly.” He explained the most common type of baldness and revealed a Spanish study in a video on the platform.

Read more: La Razón

“Among the different options dermatologists have to address androgenetic alopecia, oral finasteride 1 mg, topical finasteride, and oral dutasteride 0.5 mg are surrounded by controversy due to the possible appearance of adverse side effects, which can be very serious for some patients,” he explains.

“For this reason, specialists in the field feel the need to share the information currently available, as indicated by the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS),” he adds.

Last May, the AEMPS reported cases of suicidal ideation in patients treated with oral finasteride 1 mg and topical finasteride, mainly in those receiving treatment for male androgenetic alopecia; although the evaluation also included finasteride 5 mg and dutasteride 0.5 mg in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

The European database of suspected adverse drug reactions (EudraVigilance) reviewed 325 reported cases of patients with depressed mood, depression, or suicidal ideation: 313 were associated with finasteride.

The remaining 13 cases, linked to dutasteride, do not allow a causal relationship with suicidal thoughts to be confirmed. However, due to its mechanism of action—similar to finasteride, as both inhibit 5-alpha-reductase—it is considered a possible class effect.

At the same time, and despite being listed in the package leaflet for finasteride 1 mg, this medicine may cause sexual dysfunction, which could contribute to the development of mood disorders in patients.

In fact, the PRAC concluded that the level of evidence for these risks varies depending on the indications, active substances, and formulations evaluated.

“Hopefully, the different studies already underway will help clarify the reality of the relationship between the adverse effects reported and the use of these drugs. As professionals, we have the obligation to provide truthful and rigorous information, with common sense, to our patients,” Dr. López Bran emphasizes.

Read more: EFE:Salud

At Ideeea Therapeutics and Farmalider, projects such as AGAcell—our preclinical research in cell therapy for androgenetic alopecia—illustrate this reality well: early stages, uncertainty, and a commitment to move forward step by step. Today, AGAcell is under evaluation by our scientific and clinical teams, and any future progress will be determined by the evidence and by regulatory authorities. In biotechnology, the narrative must always follow the data, never lead it. Another key aspect of this kind of leadership is managing diverse teams. Within a single project, researchers, clinicians, quality experts, regulatory specialists, finance, business, and intellectual property professionals all work side by side. Often, my role is one of translation: turning scientific language into strategic and financial language—and vice versa.

There is also an ethical dimension that cannot be ignored. Biotechnology must serve humanity and be developed with responsibility and with the fairest possible access. This requires prudence in communication, transparency regarding risks, and absolute respect for regulations at every stage. Ideeea Therapeutics, beyond embracing these principles, was founded with the purpose of contributing to the democratization of advanced therapies, working so that in the future they can be made safely and rigorously available to an ever-growing number of patients. Ultimately, this is the true north of leadership in biotechnology: not only building companies, but leaving a legacy of useful science, demanding ethics, and teams willing to think in decades while others remain focused on the next quarter. Entrepreneurship in biotech means accepting that you may never see all the fruits of your work, yet choosing every day to plant the best science and the best leadership in the service of human health. This is the kind of impact worth pursuing in the decade ahead.

Read more: El Economista

Gaceta de Salud has interviewed Marisa Berenguer, CEO of Farmalider and Ideeea Therapeutics, who was recently awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Prize at the Spanish Association of Women Entrepreneurs Awards for her work on AGAcell—an unprecedented preclinical treatment for androgenetic alopecia that has shown promising results.

Read more: Gaceta de Salud

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are stromal cells which self-renew and differentiate to mesodermal lineages. In addition, their capacity to enhance tissue restoration has made them become a central focus in regenerative applications. Their main positive effects are based on immunomodulation and paracrine factors involved in tissue homeostasis, angiogenesis, wound healing and antiapoptosis. MSCs secrete anti-inflammatory factors such as interleukin 10, transforming growth factor 1 and prostaglandin E2. MSCs also induce regulatory dendritic cells and T cell populations and promote anti-inflammatory macrophage polarization.

According to paracrine activity, MSCs secrete growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), insulin-like growth factor (IGF), platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF) or fibroblast growth factor (FGF). All of them enhance tissue restoration and their benefits are well known in the treatment of multiple indications.

For these reasons, adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) whose extraction from adipose tissue is less complex than other sources and provides a high cell yield, are being widely researched in the dermatological field, particularly in tissue regeneration, psoriasis, alopecia and skin burns.

Specifically in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (AGA), SVF derived from adipose tissue and ADSCs derivative products have demonstrated significant improvement in hair density and diameter according to the latest reported outcomes. Growth factors that ADSCs release enhance vascularization and skin regeneration and promote dermal papilla cells functionality, a key population of resident stem cells in the hair follicle. In fact, IGF and FGF are directly involved in the anagen phase, the active growth phase of the hair cycle, when DPCs start proliferating and hair growth onset takes place.

In addition, microinflammation is also one of the etiopathological features of AGA, as evidenced by the lymphocytes and mast cells infiltration around the bulge, an area implicated in the correct hair cycle dynamics. In this context cytokines and anti-inflammatory factors released by ADSCs can immunomodulate the niche and promote the hair cycle restoration.

Given these findings AGAcell® aims to harness all these multiple regenerative benefits and to combine ADSCs with an energy booster intended to enhance their intrinsic potential. Currently AGAcell® is being undergone in a robust preclinical development in order to facilitate its rapid translation into clinical application for AGA subjects.

We at Ideeeatx are committed to its development and excited to lead such a challenging and fulfilling project.