Biotechs Target Baldness Market

Biotechs Target Baldness Market

— The latest issue of Nature Biology has an interesting article titled “Biotechs target stagnant baldness market.” My favorite and at the same time least favorite sentence from the article:  “It’s been 25 years since Propecia (finasteride), from Merck of Kenilworth, New Jersey, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1992.

— Thanks to commentator “nosyu” from Japan for posting a link with news from today regarding hair and skin focused Japanese company Adjuvant Cosmetics. It is partnering with Dr. Takashi Tsuji (RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology) and Organ Technologies to conduct joint research on product development for hair and scalp problems.

— Of all the researchers and companies involved in the hair loss world, Replicel has provided us with the most regular updates. This past month has been no exception. Here is a new video with Replicel’s CEO Lee Buckler starting his presentation at 16:11. The presentation was part of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)’s “Investing in Japan” conference in Toronto, Canada that took place on January 29th 2016. The focus of the conference was on Japan’s booming regenerative medicine market. Lee also discusses Replicel’s partner Shiseido.

— Study from Japan suggests that COL17A1 (collagen gene) could be a new target for therapy in preventing hair loss.

Kerastem clinical trial page was updated at the end of January 2016. Go under the locations section of that page to see if there is a clinic near you where you can volunteer. US only for now it seems.

Excellent new article summarizing latest hair loss treatment options. One of the co-authors is the famous Dr. Antonella Tosti.

Polichem (which is working on a topical Finasteride product called P-3074) was purchased by Spain’s Almirall. Also see this new positive study from Italy on P-3074.

Irish men are increasingly opting for hair transplants like Wayne Rooney. Is a reduction in alcohol consumption next?

And now on to medical items of interest:

Partisanship in the US hurting 21st Century Cures Act. Thank goodness for Japan, Canada, UK and probably some other countries by now.

— I have discussed Dr. Anthony Atala and the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine several times on this blog before. This week, both were widely covered by the media due to the completion of their 3D bioprinter that can make bone, cartilage and muscle (a culmination of 10 years of work it seems). Full journal article here. No mention about hair in there, but a Canadian team’s 3D bioprinter related article from 2014 mentions the eventual feasibility of adding hair follicles to the new skin. Some quotes from Dr. Atala here.

UK scientists get gene editing go ahead. Now western scientists may become less prone to criticize the Chinese too much like they did last year.

Oldest heart transplant recipient dies 33 years after getting a new heart. Amazing story. In another article I read, his son said that he died from kidney problems and still had no heart problems.

— If you have older family members that you want to live longer, you might want to find a sketchy doctor who can help remove their senescent worn out cells without government approval.

A major boost for cryonics.

A major boost for cancer treatment (using immune cells).

80 thoughts on “Biotechs Target Baldness Market”

  1. Hope Shiseido speed up things, and perfect them, for Replicel.. this dr. Takashi Tsuji, I still don’t know what it is his research.

  2. ANYTHING would be nice right about now.
    I hate how hush hush things are. No news on JAK, none on Seti, none on SM. To be honest I dont even care about histogen or replicel because those wont be out for ages, and when they are out it wont be in the US anyway. Plus I can guarantee they cost an arm and a leg. Not to mention travel costs. I want news on the treatments in the pipeline, and dont see why they cant provide us with updates. How hard is it to say “well things look good, hair shedding has decreased.” Or “oh crap, looks like this formula needs work-doesnt seem to be regrowing or halting loss.” I mean come on. If I knew a treatment was working but may still take a while to come out I would be fine with it, at least id have hope and something to look forward to.

  3. Replicel partners Shiseido will supposedly have some type of hair loss cure in 2018 & ONLY in Japan. Meaning, if you want this procedure done, you will have to come to Japan. This treatment is expecting to hit the USA by 2025. That is 9 more yrs & way to long too wait. So, if this procedure works. I will be off to Japan in 2018 along with many other people; I can only imagine!!!

    1. I’d go to Japan. It is not too far from where I live. If you want any sort of regenerative medicine done within the next 20 years, it will be the place. People should get comfortable with that idea, and try to erase the notion that America’s health care system is somehow still superior to other modern countries – it is not.

  4. No body talks about a Cure. Next treatment Will be histogen and Replicel but after 2017 or in 2018. Forget before that.

      1. Moreover if you see their website it is the same when my hair loss started and still the same..no change at all..all you see is events and seminars…blah blah

  5. Susana, NOT Replicel in 2018. Replicel “PARTNER” Shiseido. Well as for a cure not too sure about that right now. Let’s just say a treatment.

  6. Kerastem don’t seem to have released much information on the mechanism of action of their treatment.

    Based off the recent studies showing the role of Collagen 17a1 in the signalling of follicle growth, should we assume the its using this cell signalling pathway or are they claiming its some other type of cell signal such as some kind of growth factor?

    They’re also marketing it as a “one time treatment”, but surely the natural decrease in Collagen 17a1 levels as part of the aging process will continue. Any word on how long the treatment would last and whether it could be effective over the long term with repeat treatments?

  7. Hey guys,
    What’s going on with Samumed? Can we expect some news soon? Sorry I haven’t been keeping up to date haha…

  8. @fox, I think alot of us have big hopes for Samumed to break news…not about a cure but a product that will be good to maintain and maybe provide a little regrowth. The fact that they have been testing on high norwoods is imo a good sign which will also make it easy to see the actual effect of their product.

    1. I hope it’s a little more than that, Spanky, cause that is Finasteride or Rogaine.. 25 years to launch the same thing, it’s pointless, don’t you think?

  9. @julian, sure mate. What I actually meant by my post is that im hoping for a product which is similar to but more powerful than Fin. I think it would be wrong to expect something better than that…tho it surely would be a spectacular surprise if Samumed has developed something that exceeds my (and our) expectations.

  10. We all deserve to be surprised and get a new treatment. I so hope SM comes through. No more> we just need to investigate this, get this regulated, try it further on mice, apply for this, go through trials for this and that approval. Im sick to the teeth bout reading the same story bout every single company working on hairloss treatments…

  11. admin: I have a question for you, when do you would say that gray hair cure will be found ? same year of hair loss, 2020 or after ?

  12. Even if SM gave results similar to fin, or even a little LESS id be fine as long as there were bo side effects. I think if propecia worked the way it did and allowed people to hold onto their hair for another 7-10 years with no sxual sides, brain fog, etc then everyone would be using it and we would at least be able to hold on until a cure came in the next 10 years or so.

    Id love to just pop a pill and forget about hairloss, and I would if it didnt give me sides. If SM can stop hairloss and even regrow maybe a norwood or a 1/2 of one id be fine with it. I just need to maintain until there is a cure or something that can regrow a full head. Right now im not using anything because RU, FIN, and Minox all gave me sides. I just wish we knew if we have our hopes up for nothing or not.

    1. I’ve had pretty bad sides from minox and fin as well..

      You are definitely right, we need a new treatment without serious side effects now

    2. Rabcid im right there with you. I get bad sides with all treatments. And nizoral even flares up post finasteride syndrome.

    1. Finasteride may cause pulmonary embolism, a serious and deadly side effect experienced by ~ 1% . Please get yourself informed about all the potential risks before using any drug. Better safe than sorry.

  13. Exactly spanky. I could live with the sides for a few years until something better came out if I knew they wouldnt last forever after I quit. I could pop viagra for a few years, but a chance for lifetime ED and libido for a few added years of hair? Not worth it. And I NEVER Thought id have sides with fin. Never had sides from any type of drug until I used anti androgens. I am also a gym rat and very healthy overall, as well as young only 25. It was like the life was sapped right out of me first month on it. Its just sad because you cant deny the benefits it has on most people’s hair. That’s why I wouldnt mind if seti or sm had the same benefits without risk of sexual sides.

    1. ^ I can confirm… 26yo been hitting the gym for years and I always been healthy. I could feel pain in my balls everytime I’d pop a pill and had abnormal ejaculations.

      1. + 1

        It hits your balls so quickly. It feels like 5 mins after consuming it has that effect, i’m not sure if it’s in my head but i can certainly feel it.

  14. @Rancidmango, I hear you man! Its f***** up! The only real chance we have for keeping hair a little longer comes with a risk of getting a limp dick for years to come and maybe even grow a pair of titties. Its tragicomic…

  15. I don’t understand why so many are bad mouthing histogen! This product apparently either stops or slows down loss significantly!

    1. You know what it’s sad and really depressing about not existing a cure already… it’s not only this shit ruin our lives, our looks, our confidence and pride… it’s still having to put up with all of these shitty treatments and stupid theories. A cure would wipe out all these bastards…

      1. I mean, how much tigers, sharks, rhinos were spared and saved after Viagra, Cialis.. stuff that really works to cure impotence..
        Likewise, A cure for baldness would bury all the charlatans and scumbags for once! Only this would gave been good enough!!

    2. I can read Spanish. From what i understood they’re trialing/investigating the injection of donor stem cells from a healthy section of hair into areas C and a secondary area B. Also they say, this is not as good as a FUE transplant. (My opinion considering this is regenerative, that could do alot for a person with thinning)

      They repeat a couple of times that they’re publishing these photos not for the quality or as the final treatment but just to show their progress from last year when they talked about this new treatment.

      They also said that they did this primarily to demonstrate that the donor area would remain completely in tact. They also show a video that says only red marks, no scars and no wounding.. “Zona donante intacta” “De momento sabemos que con dicha técnica no se pierde zona donante. ”

      Who knows, it sounds like a yearly treatment to increase the hair count on the top whilst keeping the donor area populated with stem cells. Seems like they’re running a trial on a guy called Aitor and they will show some more results in a few more months.

      1. This is BULL SHIT maann, for Christ… there is all the stem cells you’ve ever got in your life in a completely bald scalp.. that is proved already.. c’mon.. Cotsarelis have demonstrated that.. Why would you, if it was ever possible, transplant stem cells to where they abound, there’s not even space anymore for any of them… These are charlatans, can’t you see that??????????

        they don’t deserve not even a comment here… for Christ…

        1. So why are they not turning into the cells needed for hair growth? Why do the ones at the back and sides continue to grow but the ones on the top don’t do anything?

  16. I was on fin for 5 years, quit when I was 21, was on it early. Nw 5 now, at 27 years old. Def had sides on fin, but if you quit they will go away after about a year. Balls hurt, weak ejaculations, weak erection, little facial and body hair…. All of those problems are gone now. I would never have quit if I didn’t believe we’d get a cure by the time I was 30 or so, and I still really believe that is possible.

  17. I don’t get why Hellhouser is so confident about Histogen?
    All we’ve seen is these poor results pictures. What pictures is he talking about?

  18. I sure hope something comes out in the next two years. All these advancements sound positive but all the delays and shady pictures have me worried. I just hope Samumed can stop hair loss in its tracks and grow hair that we lost the past 3 to 5 years. That would be a great advancement. I just hope it doesn’t turn out to be like Propecia results without the sides. Side free treatment is great, but we need a ton of hair growth that is the goal. Fingers crossed

  19. Well I dont understand why people are upset with histogen? Id be happy as a clam if I could get a side effect free couple times a year treatment that significantly slows down my hairloss.

  20. My apologies for going off topic, but…

    What matters most are the JAK inhibitors. How has nobody with androgenic alopecia used these yet? It seems likely that the drugs would’ve been used for other purposes by now on someone who happens to have mpb. If doctors can prescribe JAK inhibitors to help other types of baldness, then why not mpb yet? This is the main reason for my pessimism.

    Reasons for optimism are that these drugs had a hugely positive effect on mice hair and dp cells that had nothing to do with autoimmune. Also, everything Dr. Christiano said to Spencer sounded like she was saying that these things could help everyone… right up until she said it’s not known, but we’ll know soon.

    I just get the feeling that, if these drugs worked for mpb, then we’d know it by now. Perhaps drug companies have a reason to insist on secrecy for such a large breakthrough? Or maybe the establishment hair loss industry would seek to squash such a profound and simple breakthrough that’d only really benefit the drug companies.

    Anyway.. I’m about ready to hear a result for androgenic alopecia, for better or worse. If multiple autoimmune patients have been prescribed these drugs for hair loss, then it seems like it shoud’ve been tried for basic mpb by now. The topicals were proven just as effective as the pills in autoimmune patients, so that’s great news should it work for mpb too.

    Fingers crossed everyone!

    1. There’s no reason to think JAK inhibitors will be significantly effective in androgenetic alopecia.

      We understand (roughly) the mechanism of androgenetic alopecia – DNA damage of follicle stem cells enhanced by sensitivity to androgens. DNA damage causes genetic errors that triggers cell senescence and cell differentiation (follicle cells turn into skin cells), resulting in a miniaturized hair follicle.

      JAK inhibitors work because the enzymes in the Janus Kinase family help trigger an immune response that prevents the hair follicle from entering the anagen phase. That’s why autoimmune hairloss can rapidly progress to complete baldness, and rapidly recover to a full head of hair.

      In androgenetic alopecia, hair follicles are slowly shrinking, but they’re still entering the anagen phase. Eventually follicles miniaturize to such an extent that the hair can no longer penetrate the skin.

      At best JAK inhibitors could work like minoxidil in extending the time in anagen/reducing the time in telogen phase. There’s no evidence it can recover the DNA damage done to follicle stem cells which is the underlying cause.

      Not only that but JAK inhibitors have risk of serious side effects, including carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, and impairment of fertility.

      1. He’s trying to say it shouldn’t take them long to post findings. But that’s now how it works unfortunately. They are doing trials over a period of time to ascertain how the hair growth cycle is effected.

        Great after 1 week you can grow hair, but in 6 months time does that hair then fall out and never grow again? Who knows what sides these drugs have and how they will effect the hair cycle.. If they can kick start hair growth with a weeks usage and never need to be applied again it would be a miracle find.. haha

        We already know this drug works with Alopecia Areata in humans, there is various evidence of guys with no hair or eyebrows suddenly sprouting their normal hair. We don’t know if this works topically in humans, we know it worked topically in mice and we certainly don’t know if it can boost hair growth in AGA with which many of us suffer with here :(.

      2. Baldybalding were not mice man.
        Do you know the research with benoxaprofen, here is the full report http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1498062/
        Two male subjects with several years of mpb background have become hair growth after 6 and 9 months, since this research was not designed for hair loss, they dont mention about the quality and density of growing hair. If benoxaprofen could give a full haid of hair maybe it would need more than 6 or 9 months. Even for alopecia universalis cases from last year when im not mistaken, first hair growth was seen after 5 months by using orally jak

        1. Benoxaprofen is not a JAK inhibitor, its a steroidal anti-inflammatory.

          Regardless, that particular drug is not promising because of a large list of side effect, including gastrointestinal ulceration, toxic epidermal necrolysis, leucopenia, and thrombocytopenic purpura.

          Only 2 out of 5 patients showed signs of recovery from MBP, but all of them showed signs of Hypertrichosis.

          So if you don’t mind looking like the wolf-man and having gastrointestinal ulcers then it might be the drug for you.

          Though there might be a reason that in the 30+ years since this study was produced there hasn’t been a commercial release of Benoxaprofen.

  21. I don’t want just any hair. I want my original hair quality back with my original hairline! My hair feels like a manufactured wig…
    XD

  22. Finally, a bit of hopefully good news. Samumed will finally release their results at the AAD meeting in DC on the 5th of March. Yusuf Yazici will release and extensively discuss the results of their phase II study.

    1. That’s awesome!! You made my day a bit better Athmane. Where did you see that? I don’t know why I feel so good about Samumed when there is no proof yet lol

  23. I hope that the Samumed results are great, and I also hope that we don’t have to wait 5 years for it to come out..

  24. That is great news athmane! I hears that Samumed can grow new follicles which is amazing. If they can so that then they certainly should be able to revive dead follicles that have been miniaturized from 5 years back. We deserve some good news and a new better treatment by 2017. If they say 5 more years till release then it could be a scam like histogen. 5 yrs is a bad number haha

Leave a Reply to Rancidmango Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *