Amplifica Shares Hairy Moles Hair Growth Update

Amplifica, the California biotech founded by Drs. Maksim Plikus and William Rassman, announced today the imminent start of a clinical trial for one of the company’s pipeline drugs. Having previously discussed SCUBE3 (a signaling molecule) in the media, today Amplifica announced its research into osteopontin, another protein involved in the “hairy mole” phenomenon. To summarize, over the past several years, Dr. Maksim Plikus has been studying human skin moles and has sought to elucidate why moles tend to grow strong terminal hairs even when they are located on skin which would not typically grow such type of hairs. Dr. Plikus has identified several molecules involved in this process including SCUBE3, osteopontin, and others and is currently working to translate his findings into clinical therapies. Plikus’ media commentary today stated that Amplifica is intending to begin a clinical trial for osteopontin scalp injections before the end of the summer, and that the treatment would be similar to botox injections.