Verteporfin dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
Verteporfin is an approved eye drug. Injected into wounds in mice, it led to healing without scars in a famous 2021 paper. The first human scar trial started in June 2026. Using it yourself off-label can make your skin and eyes badly sensitive to light for days.
Evidence grade for Verteporfin: Preliminary. The rule: studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. The sum on this page: 1 human study where nobody was given it. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 0
- Human studies
- 0
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
1 human study where nobody was given it
2 effects reported, 2 unwanted, by people using it, not a trial
In plain English
In plain English, from Aaron
This is how I would explain it to a friend. The evidence, with the numbers, is further down the page.
Verteporfin is an approved eye drug that is activated by light. In mice, injecting it into fresh wounds made them heal without scars. A human scar trial only started in June 2026. People are already injecting it themselves.
What people take it for
- Stopping scars after surgery or injury.
- Growing hair, on the idea that wounds heal with new follicles.
What studies in people showed
There is no human result yet. The first human trial for scars opened in June 2026 and has not reported. In mice, wounds treated with it grew back hair follicles and glands instead of scars. That is about fresh wounds. Nothing shows it removes old scars.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- We have not collected user reports on this one yet.
The bad
- After a dose, skin and eyes become badly sensitive to light for days.
- The right dose, timing and safety for wounds are unknown. That is what the trial is for.
Where these come from: The mouse result and the trial come from this page. The light sensitivity warning is also on this page. We have no user reports.
My bottom line
Cool mouse science. Wait for the human trial. Doing this yourself means days of hiding from light, for a result nobody has shown in a person.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Nothing indexed yet
The 2 citations on this page do not report a result for any of the 36 goals indexed here. Most of what sits here is something else: a listing of a planned study, a study of how the body handles the drug, a safety report or a government record. None of those tests whether it works.
Show full evidence
What is Verteporfin?
Verteporfin is an approved eye drug. Injected into wounds in mice, it led to healing without scars in a famous 2021 paper. The first human scar trial started in June 2026. Using it yourself off-label can make your skin and eyes badly sensitive to light for days.
Verteporfin is FDA-approved for a light-activated eye treatment in macular degeneration. Stanford researchers showed that it blocks a signal called YAP in wound skin cells. Mouse wounds then healed with hair follicles and glands instead of scar tissue. That paper made it a fixation in scar and hair groups online. A mid-sized human trial (SCARFREE-001), injecting verteporfin into the skin of surgery wounds, began in June 2026. Outside a trial, it is an off-label use of a light-activated drug that makes skin and eyes badly sensitive to light for days.
How does Verteporfin work?
It blocks a signal called YAP in skin repair cells. That stops them switching on a scar-making program, so the wound heals more like new skin.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
1study in people cited, but none says how many people took part
number of people not stated
We do not draw a total, because none of the studies in people on this page gives one. Read the sources below for what each study measured.
We read the number of people from the source lines on this page. Where a line gives no number, we count nothing for it. We do not guess.
Fig. 1b · evidence mix
1 of 2 sources here is a study in people. The rest is not.
- Study in people · done in people150%
- Animal study · done in animals150%
Counted from the list of sources on this page. It counts only what we cite, so there may be more studies out there. A review counts once, however many studies it sums up.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
Sources here come from just two years, 2021 and 2026.
Too few different years on this page to draw a timeline.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Approved
UK
Prescription
AU
Prescription
CA
Prescription
Approved in 1 of 4, by prescription in 3, not approved in 0. This is what the law says, not a verdict on the science. See Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Fig. 5 · what the molecule is
- Kind of compound
- Small molecule
- Molecule weight
- 718.8 Da
- Half-life
- Stated in words, not a numbersee the exact wording below
- Chain length
- None on file
No amino acid sequence is on file for Verteporfin, which is expected: a small molecule is not built from amino acids.
The studies we cite
- Study in people2026SCARFREE-001: intradermal verteporfin in surgical wounds (Phase 2)
The first human test for scarring has only just started. The trial injects verteporfin into the skin of surgery wounds and opened in June 2026. Until it reports, there is no human result behind the scar claim. Everything said about it so far comes from animals.
First human trial for scar prevention, started June 2026.
- Animal study2021Preventing Engrailed-1 activation in fibroblasts yields wound regeneration without scarring
In mice. Wounds grew back hair follicles and glands instead of scars.
Mouse wounds regenerated hair follicles and glands instead of scars.
Common questions
Has Verteporfin been tested in people?
Not in a completed trial cited here. 1 human study where nobody was given it. Verteporfin is an approved eye drug. Injected into wounds in mice, it led to healing without scars in a famous 2021 paper. The first human scar trial started in June 2026. Using it yourself off-label can make your skin and eyes badly sensitive to light for days.
What is the Verteporfin dosage?
No human dose established. No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result. 1 human study where nobody was given it
Is Verteporfin FDA-approved?
FDA-approved for a light-activated eye treatment (photodynamic therapy); use on wounds is investigational (mid-stage studies)
Does verteporfin remove old scars?
The mouse work is about stopping scars in fresh wounds. Nothing shows it removes old scars.
Why is self-injecting it risky?
It makes you sensitive to light. After a dose, skin and eyes react badly to light for days. The dose, timing and safety for wounds are exactly what the 2026 trial is trying to find out.