Category Archives: Rodney Sinclair

Clinical Trials, Prolactin, Rodney Sinclair

Get Paid $20,000 to Participate in a Hair Loss Clinical Trial

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Hair Loss Clinical Trial
Participating in a hair loss clinical trial in Australia could earn you AUD 27,460 (USD 19,500).

I have covered the renowned Sinclair Dermatology (Australia) that is run by Dr. Rodney Sinclair many times on this blog. They have conducted a number of hair loss related clinical trials in recent years. Their most important ones involved:

  1. HMI-115 from Hope Medicine (China) = blocking the prolactin receptor via injections. Phase 1 trials ended in 2022. Phase 2 trials were then done in China and finished in 2025.
  2. ABS-201 from Absci (US) = blocking the prolactin receptor via injections. Unlike HMI-115, this product is developed using artificial intelligence (AI). Phase 1 trials were supposed to have started in December 2025.
  3. Sublingual Minoxidil and Oral Minoxidil.

Dr. Sinclair is also one of the earliest researchers in regards to the destruction of the arrector pili muscle and its role in hair loss. His clinic is also conducting trials for US-based Dermaliq Therapeutics‘ prostaglandin F2α analogue hair growth product DLQ01 (thought to contain latanoprost).

A Hair Loss Clinical Trial that Pays $20,000

And you may even regrow some hair and reverse some grey hair as a bonus.

Earlier today, Australian media released a new video where it was mentioned that balding men could earn Australian Dollars (AUD) $27,460 to participate in a new hair loss related clinical trial. This amount is equal to US Dollars (USD) $19,500 at prevailing exchange rates. As a bonus, these injections may also stop and possibly reverse grey hair.

Per the video, the trial entails injections to block the prolactin hormone (and therefore prevent the prolactin receptor from causing baldness). However, the official government clinical trial page says the following:

“Approximately 4-6 Single Ascending Dose (SAD) IV doses will be tested and if safe and well tolerated, approximately 3-4 Sub-cutaneous Multiple Ascending Dose (MAD) doses will be tested in participants.”

The “subcutaneous” above means injections and the “IV” stands for intravenous. I think that you should expect both IV and injection delivery.

The above official government clinical trial page also states that the drug being tested is ABS-201 (which I mentioned earlier). It is both a Phase 1 and Phase 2 trial, with a 227 person enrollment target.

I would be wary of side effects if I was participating in this trial for an AI developed drug (unless you get the placebo). However, it should be noted that people who received the somewhat similar HMI-115 prolactin receptor blocker injections at Sinclair Dermatology in 2022 did not get serious side effects as far as I know.

Trial Details

The trial will be run by Sinclair Dermatology and Nucleus Network (both in Melbourne, Australia). On the latter’s website, they call it the Headline Trial, A separate trial participation link calls it the HAIR Trial. On the HAIR Trial page, it mentions the amount to be reimbursed as “up to $21,860” (AUD) for those eligible. This amount is lower than announced in the earlier embedded video. However, on the Headline Trial page there is a clearer elaboration about two options for participation (and hence the payment variation):

Option 1:

  • 4 sets of 3 overnight stays (12 nights total).
  • At least 20 follow-up visits.
  • Up to $27,460 (AUD) reimbursement for your time and commitment.

Option 2:

  • 4 dosing visits.
  • At least 18 follow-up visits.
  • Up to $21,860 (AUD) reimbursement for your time and commitment.

​​On the HAIR trial page, it says that the participants will receive 4 doses of the study medication over the first 6 months​. The total study duration is approximately 18 months and participants will be regularly monitored. Each clinic visit in Melbourne will take 1 to 2 hours. However, on Sinclair Dermatology’s website, it says:

“Patients will be asked to visit the clinic about 27 times over 18 months. There will only be 4 dosing visits.”

As far as eligibility goes, most of us will fail the first one in the below list. I am also not sure if they will accept non-Australian residents.

  • You “may” not be eligible if you have: used minoxidil, finasteride or anabolic steroids in the last 6 months; used dutasteride in the last 12 months; have previously had a hair transplant or scalp micropigmentation; are on prescription medications; or have certain heart, kidney, or liver-related health conditions,
  • You must be a man aged 18-65 years. However, in both the HAIR Trial and Headline Trial links, they also have an option for women to register their interest. Confusing.
  • You must weigh over 60 kgs (132 lbs).
  • You must have a balding spot on the top of their head (i.e., crown hair loss).

There are also other exclusion criteria in the official government clinical trial page.

Rodney Sinclair, Sublingual Minoxidil

Minoxidil as a Sublingual Tablet

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Update: July 26, 2025

Sublingual Minoxidil for Hair Loss: Phase 3 Trials Beginning

Dermatologist and Professor Dr. Rodney Sinclair is recruiting 150 Australian volunteers for Phase 3 clinical trials of his proprietary sublingual minoxidil tablet. It looks like his company Samson Clinical will run these trials. Per Dr. Sinclair, over the course of 15 years at Sinclair Dermatology, they have treated around 30,000 patients with this medication in different doses. They have thus managed to hone and optimize their technique. Key quote:

“If the treatment receives regulatory approval, it is anticipated to be available on the market within two years. If we can get this through the regulatory pathways and make it available in pharmacies, it may well be that baldness becomes something that is perfectly optional.”

I do not buy the “perfectly optional” part of the quote at all. But it is possible that the hair growth results from sublingual minoxidil turn out to be superior to that from oral minoxidil.

Note that Sinclair Dermatology also prescribes low-dose oral minoxidil via its “Hairy Pill“.

  • Also of note, in a June 2025 study from Sinclair Dermatology, it was reported that low-dose sublingual minoxidil (SLM) increased hair fiber diameter in a dose dependent manner.

“Among men receiving SLM 0.45 mg, 1.35 mg and 4.05 mg, the mean increase in fibre diameter was -2 µm (SD 1 µm), 3 µm (SD 1 µm) and 6 µm (SD 1 µm), respectively.”

Update: June 25, 2025

In a new study from Dr. Sinclair’s clinic, it was found that sublingual minoxidil (SLM) increased hair diameter. Among men receiving SLM 0.45 mg, 1.35 mg and 4.05 mg, the mean change in hair fiber diameter was -2 µm, 3 µm and 6 µm, respectively. For those that received placebo, fiber diameter changed by -2 µm.

April 9, 2018

Sublingual Minoxidil for Hair Loss

Since 2022, low-dose oral minoxidil for hair loss (LDOM) has become increasingly popular. These pills or tablets are directly ingested. However, a potentially superior method is to take oral minoxidil sublingually (via administering under the tongue). Update: September 2025 — Also check out Veradermics and its extended-release oral Minoxidil that is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials.

The biggest proponent of this sublingual ingestion method is Sinclair Dermatology in Australia, led by Dr. Rodney Sinclair. His clinic is undertaking clinical trials for sublingual minoxidil to treat male and female pattern hair loss.

Earlier today, a reader posted an interesting video about a new hair loss treatment from Australia that entails putting some kind of dissolvable listerine-style strip underneath the tongue.

At first, I thought that this seemed like yet another scam since the title of the video includes the word “breakthrough”. Moreover, the video does not even mention what ingredients are in the sublingual strip or patch itself.

However, since the famous Australian dermatologist Dr. Rodney Sinclair appears in the video, I decided to conduct further research. Dr. Sinclair is an extremely well respected researcher in the hair loss world. In the above video, he is honest and clearly says that this treatment will not bring back hair in totally bald scalps.

Having said that, so far it seems that the results from this treatment on people who have moderate levels of balding have been very positive. And this got me curious about what magic concoction was in the strip itself.

Clinical Trial

I did not have to conduct much further research to figure out what this new potential breakthrough for hair loss patients entailed. On Dr. Sinclair’s blog, the latest post from today discusses a new clinical trial they are conducting that is recruiting both men and women. Volunteers will be treated with low-dose oral minoxidil that will be given as a sublingual tablet (which will dissolve under the tongue).

I would not be surprised if the tablet is actually the strip/patch that was shown in the video I posted earlier. It would be very uncomfortable to put an actual tablet underneath the tongue and wait for it to dissolve, unless the dissolution happened very rapidly. On the other hand, a strip would be much easier to keep in place underneath the tongue for a longer period of time.

If you live in Australia or in the nearby vicinity, perhaps it is worth volunteering for these trials. Today I finally learnt the definition of “sublingual”.

Oral Minoxidil versus Sublingual Minoxidil

Many people are wondering if sublingual minoxidil is really more effective than oral minoxidil at growing hair? Dr. Sinclair and scientists from Brazil published a paper in December 2024 that is titled:

“Sublingual minoxidil 5 mg versus Oral Minoxidil 5 mg for male androgenetic alopecia: A double-blind randomized clinical trial.”

One brief online summary of this paper suggests that the results are comparable. I am unable to find the full contents of this paper to provide my own summary.

The below video provides a good comparison of sublingual vs oral minoxidil for hair loss:

Older Updates

Update: July 2020 — From Sinclair Dermatology comes a new case series report of 64 patients taking sublingual minoxidil (0.45 mg per day) for pattern hair loss.

Update: March 2021 — An excellent video presentation on sublingual minoxidil from Dr. Bevin Bhoyrul from Sinclair Dermatology:

Update: September 2021 — Sinclair Dermatology’s clinical trial of 40 male and female patients receiving sublingual minoxidil (SM) for androgenetic alopecia just ended. Per the summary, SM produced a dose-dependent increase in mean terminal hair count of the frontal and vertex scalp and an improvement in hair density. There was no affect on blood pressure. In another article (link no longer active), reviewer Dr. Mirmirani says the following:

“The authors suggest that sublingual minoxidil (SM) may have better bioavailability and fewer hemodynamic effects by avoiding first-pass liver metabolism. Although the data in this study are positive, it will take more to convince me that it is significantly better than oral minoxidil (OM). Very few of my patients on low-dose OM for hair loss discontinue the medication due to side-effects. The other consideration is cost. OM it is an inexpensive, generic drug, that is covered by medical benefits.”

Update: January 2023 — I posted something on Twitter about sublingual minoxidil possibly being more effective than oral minoxidil. Below are the interesting responses from Dr. Corralo and Dr. Bhoyrul (affiliated with Sinclair Dermatology):

Sublingual vs Oral Minoxidil
Sublingual vs Oral Minoxidil.
Sublingual Minoxidil Sulfate
Sublingual Minoxidil Sulfate.

Update: February 2023 — A HRN forum member named “Viney” is posting excellent details with photos of his hair regrowth from sublingual minoxidil and Dutasteride. He sees a dermatologist at Sinclair Dermatology (Melbourne, Australia).