Stophairlossnow

Follica Inc., a biotechnology firm focused on developing hair loss treatments, has raised $7.5 million in an equity financing round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company’s previous investors include Waltham-based Polaris Venture Partners, Boston-based PureTech Ventures and InterWest Partners, of California.

All three venture capital firms were included in the current regulatory filing as well.

The company splits its operations between the mid-Atlantic region – Mendham, N.J., and the University of Pennsylvania – and Boston, according Follica co-founder and PureTech Ventures managing director Daphne Zohar. "We sort of have activities in multiple places," Zohar said. Development of drug delivery and devices are still taking place in Boston.

Follica specializes in treating androgenetic alopecia, a male and female pattern hair loss, and other hair loss disorders. The company is still in the development phase and plans to use the funding to advance the hair-loss treatment product. "A lot of these potential customers are wondering why Follica isn't saying more," Zohar said. Because it's in the development phase, it may seem like it's taking a while, she noted, "but things are moving quickly."

The company raised a Series B financing round in August 2008, pulling in $11 million. Then in May 2009, it replaced its founding CEO Daphne Zohar, now managing partner of Puretech Ventures, with current president and CEO William Ju, former COO of PTC Therapeutics.

Follica was founded as a joint venture by PureTech Ventures and dermatologists from Harvard University, the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Pennsylvania.