Encouraging Update on Polichem’s P-3074

In my popular post from last year regarding topical finasteride, I discussed Polichem’s P-3074 product. P-3074 is “vehicled” in Hydroxypropyl-Chitosan (HPCH) per the latest announcements. Past references state that it uses hydroxypropyl-chitosan (HPCH) as the “film-forming agent”.

Polichem: P-3074 Topical Finasteride Update

At this year’s just completed World Congress for Hair Research in Miami, one of the presentations pertained to this very product. The key quote from the abstract book:

“A pharmacokinetic phase I study, tested P-3074 b.i.d. [=twice per day] vs oral finasteride 1 mg o.d. [=once per day], revealing a finasteride systemic exposure 15 times lower in the topical formulation. A pharmacodynamic study compared P-3074 b.i.d. and o.d. vs oral finasteride 1 mg o.d. in DHT inhibition in scalp (vertex) and in serum. The results showed comparable serum/scalp DHT inhibitions across formulations, suggesting that the achievement of comparable levels of DHT inhibition vs the oral form could be attained by a lower dose of P-3074.”

My note: Their older report from the 7th World Congress for Hair Research from two years ago stated that the P-3074 product is composed of 0.25% finasteride. So the twice per day dose equals 0.50% per day. This is apparently lower than 1 mg/day oral finasteride per the implication of the last sentence in the above paragraph.

My note: They also state in the most recent abstract that at lower doses of 200 mcL, scalp DHT reduction remains unchanged. However, serum DHT reduction was much lower, potentially even further limiting systemic absorption. So 200mcL< 0.50% < 1mg. Currently, P-3074 is in Phase III clinical trials in Europe.

I called my local compounding pharmacy a few months ago to inquire about them making topical finasteride for me. They told me that while they do make topical finasteride in gel form, they only get several such requests each year. Moreover, at around $100 per month, it is much more expensive than the cost of generic oral finasteride.

What I am really looking forward to is a topical dutasteride product with very low systemic absorption. The results from oral dutasteride are clearly superior to those from oral finasteride. Make sure to read the comments to my dutasteride (Avodart) for hair loss user experiences post.

Unfortunately, oral dutasteride also results in significantly higher rates of side effects. We really need a topical version of dutasteride asap. Perhaps this will only happen after dutasteride is officially approved to treat hair loss.

Addendum

Dr. Antonella Tosti is listed as a consultant to both Polichem and Kythera in the abstract I mentioned earlier.

106 thoughts on “Encouraging Update on Polichem’s P-3074”

  1. The question is, does it work better at stopping hair loss than oral finasteride, because oral finasteride is too weak for some people, including me.

    Topical dutasteride would be good but it’s probably going to be fairly expensive. If I’m paying that much I’d rather try setipiprant at that point.

      1. Yeah Tom but that’s just the thing – to be ‘somewhat effective’ it needs to at least halt further hair loss. Can these products do that, that is the question.

        Regrowth is a bit of a different ball game, it’s a lot more difficult. But stopping hair loss 100% is already a huge win.

    1. dear admin can you tell me what is your opinion about tof and rux ?
      do you have any news , are they planing start with clinical trials?
      pls answer.

  2. Hello,

    If i right understand, this product is in phase 3 in Europ actually ?
    So it could be released in Europe in a few month…right ???

  3. I just want to see the photos, the unblurry ones please, and judge for myself the effectiveness.

    Whatever that Sams product is they sure seem to be rushing it through, and good for them to actually get a product out ASAP. Let’s just keep adding more and more products and hopefully over time the drug companies can improve up them.

    1. As long as they are not like those Histogen’s pictures… Gosh, that was pathetic.. Really a shame. I confess after I saw that, I didn’t want to hear the interview anymore. Histogen for me is not to be taken seriously anymore.

  4. They were taking from different angles, in the after photo the head is tipped forward, and the hair is combed in way to look like there is more hair than there really is, this is not honest, to begin with. This is not what should be expected of a company which is supposed to be serious, to say the least.

    1. I totally agree with julian. Something isn’t right with those pictures. His head should be shorter, clearer pics .

      I hope topical finasteride works much better than internal

      1. Histogen probably has meager results at best but I still would line up for treatment if it grew more hair. How sad is that.

        Christopher1 Note: the rats grew hair after 10 days but their hair was ONLY shaved thus do not feel let down that it has not worked yet but although there are only a few scant facts I think it will work.

        I know you plan to use Tofac for 6 weeks but after a total of 3 months you should then have signs of lots of hair.

  5. Admin have they addressed how finasteride shouldnt come in contact with any females of child bearing age… I like the idea of topical fin but fear that this could present a potential problem via secondhand exposure.. Any thoughts?

      1. Let me chime in. First the topical….I can tell u from working in supplement stores while going to college, I have tried a lot of products. I would try a product and see if it worked or not for others…so when selling I would know. Now it wasn’t hair products but supplements. ..and some of those were transdermals that contained Andro. Sound familiar? Andro converts into testosterone, this was in 2004..right before it was illegal. You could buy these in alot of drugstores sitting next to protein bars or even ensures. They hid behind the FDA non label…we all seen the label, “This drug has not been evaluate by ……” So it was legal…now, it’s a classified steroid..and one that works. I bring this uo bc it dealt with hormones and yes I tried it and it was a transdermal. As companies were trying to find ways around loop holes to make it a supplement and other ways of delivery besides pill form. I can tell you the topical was less effective than pill form. Also yes you had to be cautious around women, kids, etc. I would imagine since these also play with hormones, but the opposite effect, that my experience can translate well. That doing something transdermal can be effective but not as effective taken orally…but side effects would be weaker. Also yes you would have to watch urself around others. However we first have to assume that the problem for people is dht…not genetics. Two, if it is genetics or more over not dht as it’s main cause, then one has to be able to stimulate hair at the receptor site…besides blocking type 1 and 2 dht. This may help…but ur just blocking something that doesn’t need to be blocked if there is no indication it is a dht problem. You then would have to stimulate the receptor in the follicle…to grow cells for hair growth via the receptor. I see no way around this matter, unless the hair was dht induced and by blocking it…your own receptors grow the hair back. However the break down is prob in place if hair is losing.

  6. well if it’s 15 times less dangerous topically i’ll take it admin

    where do you buy it and when? Do i fly to europe?

  7. Will this boost the effectiveness of propecia if applied topically for those who are losing effectiveness internally? This would be a life saver for me if it can kick start the effectiveness and regrow the hair that I have lost in the past 3 years

  8. It’s already widely known that topical fin/dut is not better than oral… I understand the post since it will be a “new” treatment. If you want to use topical forms of an AA, Ru or CB.

    You all know that hasson and Wong prescribe topics dut/ fin to some of their patients right?..

  9. After the recent hair loss congress and Histrogens release of their non exsistent results and manipulated pics, I must say that I more or less lost all hope that something usable will come out. I dont wanna expose my self to Fin and risc ending up both bald and with a limp dick.

  10. Are only hope for at least 1 Year (if not much longer) is Tofacitinib Lotion.

    Nothing else without any type of meaningful success is on the horizon. But, Christopher1 is trying it for 2 more weeks (tofac lotion on his head). It should take one month after that for us to know if it works-thus we are six weeks away from a very possible 100% effective treatment or 0% hope for any near term cure. I really, really have my hope up on this one.

      1. It will work. It will. Not wishful thinking, even though I wish it works, but on SOME empirical evidence suggests it CAN possibly work for Male pattern hair loss.

        Let’s find out before we say Nay or Ya. We will know in 6 weeks either way for the most part.

  11. Okay, histogen was a disappointment with the hype it tried to cause. I must say that attitude makes me feel a bit more confident in a company like Follica. Their silence is annoying but at the same time – they work in silence, and probably only will reveal something when, and if, it is worth and they are sure they are ready to go. Better those who do rather than those who say! I got more confident in them after this congress. I think their quietness is not that bad, better than empty loudnesses.

  12. I won’t say jak stat drugs won’t work, but it is interesting since there is an autoimmune factor at play. Setipiprant or Adc 3680 (in trials for asthma, better SETI) seems like it will be the halter of hairloss, but it depends on how much pgd2 is present and how much each person has to take. As for regrowth, SM might be the ticket with wnt signaling, and they will release their phase II results soon so we can get a better look. But the factor causing the hairloss has to be lifted first. We still have about three years before we can test anything good unless you enter a group buy somewhere, but they are limited.

    Also, CB seems like it can be a monster as well, but it’s expensive as sh** and not to many people are using and reporting.

    Admin, you should get into organizing group buys lol. Take this site to the next level

    1. Finasteroid topical solution may be approved soon but it’s efficacy is below of the oral finasteroid. So it’ll not impact too much for hair loss sufferers I think.

  13. After seeing sammumed presentation & slide, what do you think guys ? How much effective it will be for AGA patients, specially for Norwood class vii ? I’m not too much expert on this and didn’t really understand the whole thing of that presentation slide. So need your opinion/prediction on this.

  14. @Fadi, no the congress didnt show anything. There is nothing noticable coming out in the near future. Only stuff that might, if we’r lucky, be as good as treatments already out. After this yrs congress I think I’ll stop checking sites like this as its causing me stress (and hence loosing more hair) to get my hopes up bout something that wont be out until 2080.

  15. I love how everyone was going against me about how nothing better will come out and now everyone is agreeing with me. Well I do have hope it samumed, follica and sishedo. Follica just needs to surprise us in 2016 with a treatment we can use. It’s been since 2007 and they need to show us results already. Anything is better than what we have. Samumed will give us better regrowth than minox. Sishedo will work and well but it will take a while to hit market. As for everything else, well, who knows. 10 to 20 years etc. I really hope I am wrong but the researchers at university of pennsylvania that I meant seemed to be telling me the truth that nothing great will come out like a cure for a very long time. They projected 5 years for a better treatment involving awakening stem cells.

    1. How many times will you keep posting the same comment, jones? the same thing all the time.. the same thoughts always..

  16. Mjones you know nothing don’t flatter yourself.
    Follica is 5 years away from shit Dr. Cots Kythera Allergan/Pfizer they ain’t gonna make jack shit. Maybe some 3rd rate treatment by 2020.. according to you Dr. Cots staff a pen state is anticipating 2020 for their stem cell treatment. They must be referring to their jerk off setipiprant wounding treatment that by the way many people on forums are already doing with half ass results *cough cough* swiss temples

    1. Christopeher1 is trying out Tofacitinib Lotion, that he devised himself. Apparently he is using a dab on his temple of the lotion. He has used it for one month without results. However, he plans to use it for 2 more weeks and I think about 1 month after that he should see results. As I believe it takes 2-3 months to show the first signs of hair growth. Do not ridicule this COULD work. Why not? He is using Tofacitinib and using the same stuff mixed in it to create the lotion form that Dr. Christiano used. Is he using the right dosage? I think if he under utilizes the dosage then it will only weakly work. I do not think he is using too much. He is doing all of us a great favor.

      Do not care what anyone says. This could work. I actually believe it should work. But if it does not nasa_rs is forever gone on this hair loss site (or any other). I simply live my life with a soon to be bald head.

      However… Christopher1 COULD ACTUALLY SOLVE Hair Loss.

      http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/forum_entry-id-131742-page-0-category-1-order-last_answer.html

  17. Even if you believe in JAKS
    1. Who is to say christopher is using it incorrectly compared to Christiano with the mice?
    2. What’s Christophers first and last name? You don’t even know the guy .. You don’t even know the Before Christopher

    You are seriously putting ALL your hope into this with absolutely no solidarity behind these questions.

    1. He took Before Pictures and if it works he will show the After pictures.

      I have no idea who he is but not everyone is a liar (not calling anyone a liar). He has not offered some miracle cure but sounds just like some guy who like us is desparately seeking a treatment to this dreaded disease.

      No need to even ask anything about him unless he claims it works. The we can ask follow up questions. Otherwise if it does not work then we are exactly where we are now, nowhere.

      Just give the man 6 more weeks. I believe it will work WHICH means it will not work. I guess You win Egghead.

  18. @mjones, you have my apologies! I was disagreeing with you but after this congress it seems pretty clear that its all just warm wind. None of the companies researching hairloss is onto anything that will really make a difference, only maybe just maybe for ppl who havent already lost alot.

    1. Thanks Guest:) My intentions is not to be a dick on this site. It’s just I am a realist and not easily influenced with big Pharma or researchers because they haven’t done shit in hair losd for over 20 years. Hopefully in thr next 5 years a treatment will come out for low Norwoods that can regrow hair and stop loss.

  19. For the 100th time haha samumed will bring us our next hsir loss treatment within the next 18 months. I’m sounding like Nasa here lol but I got a good gut feeling about them . Their quick clinical trials process is amazing. They are rushing to be the first movers into the market. I’m not expecting a big ass regrowth but if it can grow 2 Norwoods that’s pretty great in my book

  20. Hey Guys, I am tired what to use to stop may hair loss? i am using finasteride 1 mg daily, i bought hairmax laser comb and i use it rarely, i am willing to use topical finasteride minoxidil lotion (15% minoxidil, 1% finasteride), and skin media growth factors serum, what do u advice me? all this forum members*Admin, Fg11fg,doctor,….)help by any answer or advice?

  21. Anyone have any more info on that Theracell product on their website. It’s like 1,000 euros and it’s a stem cell treatment. Supposedly works like prp or something like that.

      1. Egghead it looks like a treatment you purchase and do it yourself but then again that is just as a guess. Shit I have a ton of family in Greece so if I end up going in thr spring then I will stop their office in Athens and see what’s up. Fingers crossed this stuff is like neogenics on steroids with good thickening of weak thin hairs and regrowth

  22. Rutledge thanks for the compliment you douche hahaha. At least I post actual products from real companies with some sort of potential and met with upennn researchers . Wtf have you done other than talking shit. I still have faith in cotsarelis. If his ass can’t find a cure with the whole university Lab behind him then we are pretty much fked

  23. Well, at least there are Samumed phase 2 results to look forward to in a couple of months. If this one fails too, then we are well and truly buggered. Sorry to be the grub Grinch, but after this histogen fiasco I wouldn’t trust these mugs with growing hair on, you guessed it, MICE!

    1. yeah, why do they keep using mice if their system is so different from us that what works on them is never a guarantee to work on humans? Why not test it on something that’s actually closer to humans like an orangutan or donald trump?

      1. Speaking of that wannabe billionaire Trump, how ridiculous would it look on a US president to have that thing on top of his head? On second thoughts, might be a good thing to have him in the White House. That’s one candidate who just might do something about this hair loss malarkey while in office.

    2. I think they will have legit results. It proved to work on multiple animal models and they did a phase 1 in Australia that showed good results. I’m not expecting a cure here but definitely better than rogaine propecia

      1. Plus no delays so far which means they know how their treatment works exactly and are pushing quickly to get this through the clinical trial process unlike histigen and replicel.

      2. I think we all know by now that the companies that remain tight lipped and don’t rustle up extra marketing BS have a better chance at getting a product that actually works to market.
        The other interesting bit about them is that all their test subjects are high Norwoods. Should be interesting

  24. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE PERCENTAGE OF FINASTERIDE IN Polichem’s P-3074 product? IT IS SAFER THAN ORAL 1MG? WHAT IS ITS EFFECTIVENESS?

  25. resume:

    jak inhibitors: nothing
    replicel, shiseido, histogen: nothing/poor results
    tsuji labs: nothing

    admin: you think 2020 is a year of cure?????

  26. Sets… Jak inhibitors, Tsuji labs…nothing….Please don’t be so naive.
    Just wait. Replicel, Shiseido and Histogen is “the new big deal”…PayDay says that in the TBT…. maybe he’s right….The times for AGA
    definitely are changing.

    Paul.

  27. Mjones, i saw some of your comments speaking about Samumed, well, can u or someone here explain me how it works? i mean, they are going to start the next trial, right? what about the first one? (Safety, Doses, shedding, hair regrowh) when is going to start the phase II and how long is going to take to show the results? and the most important thing for me, if Samumed works, when is going to hit the market with a better treatment?

    Thanks Guys

    PD: something new about the hair congress? (Replicel, Histogen, Sisheido …)

  28. Cris, c’mon… your questions only, and maybe some of them not even Samumed can answer. First of, they have finished phase 2 already. They should start 3 next year. The When (and IF) is it going to hit the market cannot be answered yet, not only by Samumed, but all others, Follica, Replicel, Histogen, Kythera, etc..
    You’ll know when it happens only. If it happens.

  29. Thanks Julian!

    yep you right, but you know, people who use to speak with companys or email them to know how the things are going and blabla, maybe someone know more than us, even here.. at least more than me haha, that’s why i asked,

    by the way, you guys think Samumed is going to work better than Fin/Mix?

    Thanks again!

    1. No one knows yet. They will release phase 2 results in a few months and this should give a good idea about effectiveness.
      As stated before, this company leaves a lot of us hopeful given their track record in steadily moving through clinical trials and also the fact their test subjects are high norwoods (4 and up)

      1. Yes I agree with athamine. Not sure how well it will work but it sounds very promising and I like how professional and steady they are moving. I have much respect for this company even if they only produce results a bit better than rogaine or propecia. However since they are testing high Norwoods they might have something much more effective. Either way I hope they take histigen out of the market after histigen posted that fake ass picture the other day and their 6 yr delay on releasing a product that should have been out this year in the USA.

  30. That picture was great. I don’t know what everyone is so upset about… If it improves anymore than that just through a couple injections over 24 weeks, that stuff is the bomb.

  31. I don’t think so. The head is tipped down in the after picture (different position), they combed the guys hair in a manner to show that it is thicker than it really is, they pulled some from the sides to the front. It’s pretty clear that they tried to give the impression that he grew more hair than he actually did and that is not honest. It seems that there was some growth but it isn’t as much as they want us to believe.

  32. Dude, he didn’t have much hair in the front to comb over originally.. .It was ridiculously thin… Look at that hair he had before.. If he combed it to other side, he would have looked ridiculously bald on one side or the other… couldn’t do that in the second picture.. what a change in that dude’s quality of life.

  33. There was also an interesting poster: (http://www.registration123.com/NAHRS…k_WCHR2015.pdf)

    P098 Viabilities of Androgen Stimulated Dermal Papilla Cells are Modulated with GPR44 Antagonist

    It links androgenreceptors, dermal papilla cells and DHT to GPR44 (PGD2 receptor), one criticism of the PGD2 theory was that there was no obvious link between it and DHT/AR’s. Now we have some more evidence.

    To determine the effect of GPR44 antagonist or COX inhibitor such as TM30089, indomethacin andrefoxcib, they were applied to DHT-treated DPCs. According to real time-PCR and Western blot assay, androgenreceptor (AR), PGD2 synthase and GPR44/CRTh2 was upregulated in 1-100nM DHT treated samples. The GPR44antagonist or COX inhibitor inhibited the level of AR, type 2 5α-reductase (5αR2), and PGD2 synthase. Theseeffects positively act on DPCs viability

    This, along with 055 CRTH2/ PTGDR2 Antagonists Reverse the Hair Growth Inhibition Caused by Elevated PGD2 Level and P012 Prostaglandin D2 and Its Metabolite 15-dPGJ2 Promote Catagen Progression in Mice mean that we have some good papers ready to be read once they are published and also whatever info hellouser is able to report in due time.

  34. Just a thought. 80-90% comments are against Tofacitinib here with gave good results. But it might not work for AGA as all are saying. I am not very knowledgeable here but why minoxidil works (of course not excellent, but upto certain level it surely works) for all the different types of hair loss?

    May be whatever the cause of your hairloss is, the common factor is, the hair thins out. So may be if one medicine works for all, not sure though…

  35. Hey guys quick question. Since samumed complete phase 2. Couldn’t they technically release their product overseas since those countries don’t require phase 3?

  36. Lol hate to say this, but I have kind of lost hope of seeing anything decent for the next 4 years. I am more starting to lien towards maybe moving somewhere warmer in 5 years, get a tan, keep fit, and shave it. Won’t be so bad.

  37. By the way.. I still have a slight glimmer of hope in the military coming up with something for warriors who suffer terrible burns to their face/scalp. They may stumble on how to regrow hair.

    1. Samumed actually ran one of their trials at wake forest university where they did that army skin hair rejuvenation trial. Maybe they are related. What Norwood are you ddog?

  38. I cannot ever quite figure out what Norwood I am. Seems like every scale varies; especially when you try to look up actual pictures of Norwoods. Looks like a 2, but not sure.

  39. There’s a lot of people here just Debbie downing the shit out of everyone.. A lot of this stuff is stumbled upon. Maybe the methods in which they are going about studying the follicular process is wrong. i never comment on this stuff, but damn people, have some faith.. The one thing I’ve noticed is that when someone finds something, it’s as if they come out of nowhere with the cure. It just needs more scientific attention.

  40. Admin, you may be interested to see this 2011 patent for Polichem for what seems to have become p3074. It gives an example composition as follows:

    0.25% finasteride
    55% ethanol
    5%PG
    38.75% Purified water
    Hydroxpropyl Chitosan 1% (as a film forming agent).
    http://www.google.com/patents/US20110183016

    As you noted in one of your more recent posts, they recently published the results of a recent p3074 trial where applying just 0.1ml or 0.2ml of 0.25% fin solution reduced scalp DHT 50% and serum DHT just 25%. Such doses contain 0.25mg or 0.5mg of fin. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26636418

    For 16 months, 2 years ago I applied a DIY product similar to this (lacked the HC), but I now realise that it was too weak and saw no benefit. I was applying less than 20% of the fin they are using even with the recent trial’s lowest doses. I was conservative based on other topical fin studies such as Rushton and Mazarella’s that showed 40% and no serum effect respectively of a very low topical dose of 0.05% solution, 2mg via 4ml/day for 1 year (Rushton) and 0.1mg/day via 2ml /day of 0.005% solution for 16 months (Mazarella). Also I did this without the benefit of any film forming agent.

    I’m probably going to give it another go at a higher dose than before!

    NB: I used 50% ethanol, 25% distilled water, 25% PG. In the UK where you can’t buy ethanol I first used an Irish supplier and then a Polish vodka, Spirytus Luksusowy, that was pure ethanol. After heat sterilising my glass containers, I first crushed and disolved the fin tablet in a small amount of ethanol, shook it using a vibrating mat for 5 mins, then filtered it through Watman grade 4 filter paper into the final container to remove the excipients (the inactive bulk of the tablet), based on what these guys did when testing finasteride:

    http://ijps.aizeonpublishers.net/content/2013/1/ijps123-125.pdf

    (they used grade 41 whatman paper, which is a higher standard than grade 4 that I used, but both the same 20-25 micrometer filtration)

      1. Admin, do you have any insight as to the various %’s of finasteride in topical formulation? There is the common .1% usually mixed with minox, .25% from Polichem (which includes HPCH), and then H&Ws 2.5% lipsomal formulation. 2.5% is 25x the amount of the .1%! Do the absorption rates vary that greatly? Am I missing something? Thanks.

        1. Sorry MW1 have not looked into this in detail for a long time. I am more interested in Dutasteride at present, in spite of the far more significant side effects.

  41. You cant compair finasteride 1 mg topical with 1 mg oral.
    a topical solution 0f 0.25% fin, contains 2.5 mg per ml. Considering aplying 0.2 ml means, applying 0.5 mg to the skin
    Now i do not know how much of that is acutally absorbt, which also depends on whats added as carrier. Most will be alcohol based with something like PG or glycerol. maybe some oil based carrier.

    for instance testosteron in (alcohol) gel (androgel) approx 10% of the testosteron is absorbed.

    studies have shown similar reductions in serum DHT of topical applied fin vs 1 mg oral, even if the topical solution is at a lower concentration.

    first of al Oral fin. undergoes extensive hepatic metabolism to essentially inactive metabolites, which are eliminated through the bile and urine. So most of that oral fin (lets say > 90%??) is inactive, leaving 0.1 mg active inhibitor.

    when applied topically Finasteride goes through the skin (and hopefully some remains in the skin) in to the bloodstream, in this case fin. doest pass the liver and remains active, therefore
    if of the 0.5mg topically applied fin 10% is absorbed, still 0.05 mg of active compound gets into to bloodstream. equalling or exeeding the serum concentration of 1 mg oral fin dose

    to make the comparison the absorion rate (in ethanol) is needed and the biological evaillability of the 1 mg oral dose.

    an additional effect of the topical dose could be that it could directly and mostly inhibit 5ar in the scalp, since 5 AR is most abundant in the scalp and prostate before it passes to the bloodstream. Therefore adding something like the chitsosan component seems logical.

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