155. Bad Hairdo to Good HairDAO: Andrew Verbinnen on Reversing Hairloss Through Decentralization

We sit down with Andrew Verbinnen, founder of HairDAO, who's revolutionizing how we approach hair loss research and treatment. After experiencing hair loss himself at nineteen, Andrew discovered that androgenetic alopecia - affecting 95% of hair loss cases - receives almost no funding because it's classified as cosmetic rather than a disease. By creating a patient-led biotech organization combining a thriving online community with an in-house high-throughput lab, HairDAO has driven research costs down from $250,000 per study to just $6,000 while accelerating results from two years to one month. Andrew shares how they've developed proprietary treatments available through their telehealth platform Anagen, built a unique human hair follicle organ culture model that's providing unprecedented data on fully intact human tissue, and created a token-based governance system where patients vote on which research to fund. We explore the blurring lines between pharmaceuticals and consumer products, the power of patient empowerment in driving innovation, and why Andrew believes the hair follicle data they're generating could unlock treatments for conditions far beyond hair loss.

Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and interview the leaders and influencers changing the world by growing everything. Biology is the oldest technology. And it can be engineered. What are we growing?

Learn more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.messaginglab.com/groweverything⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

Chapters:

• (00:00:00) - Andrew's Personal Hair Loss Journey and Introduction to HairDAO
• (00:01:48) - What is a DAO? Redefining Decentralized Organizations
• (00:03:53) - Why Hair Loss Gets Almost No Research Funding
• (00:06:41) - Understanding Androgenetic Alopecia: The Science Behind Hair Loss
• (00:09:43) - How HairDAO Cut Research Costs from $250K to $6K
• (00:12:47) - The Human Hair Follicle Organ Culture Model: A Breakthrough Innovation
• (00:16:47) - Token Governance: How the Community Votes on Research
• (00:21:48) - Anonymous Discord Researchers Outperforming Traditional Dermatologists
• (00:28:43) - Patient Empowerment: Balancing Short-Term Gains with Long-Term Efficacy
• (00:33:25) - Quickfire Round and Launching Topical Dutasteride
• (00:37:56) - The Blurred Line Between Pharmaceuticals and Consumer Products
• (00:42:15) - Building a Telehealth Platform: From Research to Patient Access
• (00:46:32) - Why Traditional Pharma Won't Touch Hair Loss
• (00:51:08) - The Future of Decentralized Science and Patient-Led Research
• (00:55:43) - Beyond Hair Loss: Applications for Other Underfunded Conditions

Links and Resources:

• AGEN.xyz
• HairDAO discord community channel
• Future is Fungi Awards
• TedX
• VitaDAO
• Molecule DAO
• AthenaDAO
• 26. Breaking Bad Hair Habits with Biology: Suveen Sahib's K18 Rescues Your Strands⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Topics Covered: 

biomaterials, wood, lumber, bacterial cellulose, industrial biomanufacturing, biotech, business

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