Monthly Archives: April 2016

Osman Kibar, Samumed, Wnt10b

Wnt10b and Hair Growth

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Hair loss news first:

— Two important studies were published in Japan in the past several weeks. One on the unusually named topical penta-peptide Gly-Pro-Ile-Gly-Ser (GPIGS); and another on the somewhat less esoteric Wnt-10b. Update: A 2020 study finds that Wnt10b promotes hair follicle growth and dermal papilla cell proliferation via the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway. Note that the research was done in rabbits.

— Samumed and its Turkish CEO Osman Kibar are featured in a Forbes magazine cover page story and article that everyone was talking about last week. Turkish media also picked up on the story. I did not realize that Mr. Kibar was such a good poker player. I do not agree at all with some hair loss forum members who have said that winning and placing second in his first two tournaments is just luck, especially when considering that the second tournament had 3,000 participants.

More importantly, Samumed is potentially valued at $12 billion, so Mr. Kibar is worth $4 billion with his one-third ownership stake. An unreal number for a company with somewhat unproven products and potential. Further proof that the biotech sector is extremely overvalued. As far as Samumed’s SM04554 hair loss product goes, the article does not divulge anything new that would raise my optimism level above what I gauged in my last post on the subject.

— The UK’s Mirror had an excellent article on the dangers of getting bad hair transplants and the importance of picking an experienced surgeon and adviser. Also see my posts on the dangers of getting hair transplants abroad and on hair transplants gone wrong.

— Pfizer and Allergan have scrapped their merger plans after US tax rule changes limited potential benefits. I mention this news because Allergan has two important hair loss treatment drugs in the pipeline in Bimatoprost and Setipiprant.

— Does PPR for hair loss work? A new study from Spain suggests that it is an effective treatment for hair growth.

— New study summarizing 11 older LLLT studies concludes overall favorable results when it comes to hair growth.

— French spiderman climbs an office tower to call attention to hair loss. Well done monsieur. The French are supposed to be among the best in the world at realizing the important things in life. For example, hair loss day was celebrated (or mourned) in the country on March 24th 2016 per the last sentence of that article.

— Someone from the HLT forums asked me via e-mail to help in publicizing a group buy of ingredients to make Dr. Brotzu’s lotion. I never participate in group buys, and I do not like posting about them on this blog. I do not want to be responsible in case someone purchases a dangerous ingredient from some unreliable international vendor. Nevertheless, I will make an exception here and encourage blog readers to visit this link and decide for themselves. As always, I am not a doctor or medical professional, and I take zero responsibility in case the group buy ends up being something illegal. I have done no research about the ingredients involved in this venture.

And now on to medical items of interest:

— Salamander’s are known for their limb regenerative abilities. And now, a team from Australia claims that a stem cell therapy that is capable of regenerating any human tissue damaged by injury, disease, or aging could be available within a few years due to the development of new techniques.

— Implant lets paralyzed man play guitar. Just imagine if hair loss and paralysis both get cured by the end of 2020.

— Mind transfer to a computer very possible by 2050. Very popular story on Reddit based on number of comments, but I think they have this same kind of mind uploading story every single month.

— The convergence of programming and biology.

— Two new breakthroughs in diabetes treatment: one makes sense, but the other is a bit of a surprise. For probably the 4th time on this blog, I repeat that the UK’s much maligned gossip rag “The Daily Mail” seems to be at the forefront of covering important hair loss and medical news stories.

— Gene therapy that restores eyesight in some to be tested on humans. Everyone seems to be having an easier time moving from testing on animals to testing on humans in comparison to hair loss researchers.

— First 3D printed drug Spritam (Levetiracetam) for epilepsy treatment now FDA approved for sale in the US.

Neal Walker

Mr. Neal Walker

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Based on two of my more recent posts, I think hereon, it is important to follow Mr. Neal Walker, including tracking his stock purchases and company affiliations. Among this man’s accomplishments include:

1) Chairman of Follica, (which has rights to some of Dr. George Cotsarerlis’s most important work).

2) CEO and Co-Founder of Aclaris Therapeutics (which several weeks ago acquired Dr. Angela Christiano’s company Vixen Pharmaceuticals).

So Mr. Walker has essentially managed to acquire rights to the disparate but crucially important works of two of the world’s absolutely foremost hair loss researchers. Also noteworthy, Mr. Walker got his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, which is home to Dr. George Cotsarelis. Here is the insider transaction page for Aclaris Therapeutics. Follica is still a privately-held company.

Mr. Neal Walker has an MBA, Bachelor’s degree in Biology, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, and per several sources, is also a board certified dermatologist!

Interestingly, Mr. Walker is or was also:

3) CEO of a company named Vicept Therapeutics, which was purchased by Allergan (a key player in the hair loss cure research world if you have followed this blog) in 2011.  Vicept was working on a cream based treatment for the skin condition rosacea.

4) Vice-Chairman of Ralexar (formerly Alexar) Therapeutics, which is working on a gel based treatment for atopic dermatitis.

5) On the board of Sebacia, which is developing a treatment for acne.

6) Past President at Cutix pharmaceuticals, a developer of sunscreen.

7) The Chief Medical Officer at dermatology related company Trigenesis Therapeutics, prior to its acquisition by Dr. Reddy’s (a key player in the generic hair loss drugs world) in 2004.

8) With his twin brother, Mr. Walker co-founded Octagon Research, which was sold to Accenture in 2012.

9) He is also involved with Advancing Innovation in Dermatology.

10) And has an advisory role at Flexible Medical Systems, a privately-held medical device company.

11) And he seems to be a board member for a company named Specialty Diets; and probably others, but I stopped counting at this point…

Mr. Walker seems to be a remarkable person who is still only 45 years old. I bet he has absolutely perfect skin based on all the skincare products that he has been involved with, and he must surely have resolved all his dermatological issues if any existed in the first place? He does seem to always be smiling in his photos. Will he finally make us all smile too and bring about the cure for hair loss?

Or will he just keep selling the companies that he leads and leave us to continue on our wild goose hair loss cure chase?