In 2019, I wrote a post about senolytic drugs to slow down ageing and maybe even reverse hair loss. Senolytics are drugs that clear away damaged senescent cells (also known as “zombie” cells). The latter are normal cells that have stopped dividing, but do not die and get cleared away. Instead, they pump out damaging inflammatory chemicals that harm healthy cells throughout the body.
An increasing amount of anti-aging research is focused on the development of new senolytic drugs to help remove senescent cells. Some of these drugs have already been proven to extend mice lifespan substantially and are now in human clinical trials. And just this week, scientists in the US showed that a new topical senolytic drug called ABT-263 reverses skin aging in mice and improves wound healing.
Rubedo Life Sciences RLS-1496 (GPX4 Modulator) to Treat Hair Loss
Last week, Rubedo Life Sciences (US) announced that it would start a clinical trial in Fall 2026 to test its GPX4 modulator RLS-1496 to treat hair loss. The trial will be led by Dr. David Pariser, a former President of the American Academy of Dermatology. Modulation of GPX4 is thought to clear aged senescent cells, including from the roots of miniaturizing and thinning hair follicles. So RLS-1496 is a senolytic drug.
RLS-1496 has already demonstrated efficacy in clinical trials for treating dermatological conditions such as actinic keratoses, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and skin aging.
Interestingly, Rubedo Life Sciences already tested RLS-1496 in an independent ex vivo human androgenetic alopecia (AGA) model. They used intact human hair follicles from male patients with AGA. The follicles were “challenged with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to replicate the follicular miniaturization environment seen in AGA patients.”
RLS‑1496 demonstrated a highly statistically significant increase in hair follicle elongation compared to vehicle control after 6 days. In particular, the hair elongation was much greater with RLS-1496 in comparison to finasteride. I pasted the before and after image towards the top of this post.
Note that they do not mention any new hair growth. I am assuming that, if effective, RLS-1496 will rescue miniaturizing wispy hair, but will likely not bring back hair in totally bald areas of the scalp. Moreover, it might make your remaining hair stronger and more resistant to the ravages of dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
“Rubedo Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer Marco Quarta, PhD, will present the ex vivo data, along with additional RLS-1496 data, at the 13th Annual Aging Research & Drug Discovery (ARDD) Meeting at Harvard University, October 1–3, 2026 — the world’s largest dedicated longevity science conference. The presentation marks the first time a GPX4 modulator program in hair loss will be presented at a major longevity science conference.”
Check out this 2025 interview with Mr. Quarta. Also of interest, RLS-1496 uses Rubedo’s proprietary, AI-driven drug discovery platform ALEMBIC™. Yet another AI-driven hair loss drug.
Studies on Hair Loss and Senescent Cells
There are a number of studies that connect hair loss with increasing cellular senescence:
