Innovation in dermatology: where are the dermatologists? A retrospective review of the Pitchbook Database.

ABSTRACT

To investigate the extent to which dermatologists are involved in innovative dermatology start-up companies, we analyzed the Pitchbook database which covers private capital markets. From January 1, 2010 to June 23, 2021, there were 105 dermatology companies, of which six (5.7%) had a dermatologist chief executive officer (CEO), 16 (15.2%) had a dermatologist founder, and 19 (18.1%) had a dermatologist advisor or board member. There were 98 dermatologists with leadership positions, including six (6.1%) CEOs, 21 (21.4%) founders, 11 (11.2%) chief medical officers (CMOs), and 60 (61.2%) advisors. Our findings highlight the underrepresentation of dermatologists in start-up ventures relating to dermatology.