Category Archives: Wnt/Beta-Catenin

CK Regeon, CXXC5, Kang-Yell Choi, PTD-DBM, Wnt/Beta-Catenin

CK Regeon and its Hair Loss Peptide

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In 2017, I covered the development of a new biochemical peptide material called PTD-DDM that would grow hair. The peptide targets the CXXC5 gene, resulting in activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. This is turn leads to accelerated hair regrowth.

The South Korean team that conducted this research was led by Dr. Kang-Yell Choi, who even has a wikipedia entry. I previously also covered Dr. Choi in my post on valproic acid and hair growth.

CK Regeon

To bring this hair growth peptide (KY19382) to market, Dr. Choi started a company named CK Biotech that I mentioned in my original post. However, in 2021, it was renamed to CK Regeon.

Recently, I heard again about this company due its presentation at a June 30, 2022 South Korean symposium on the development of innovative new drugs for hair loss. This conference was led by Epibiotech and Yonsei University. On an interesting side note, Inventage Lab also presented at this conference, indicating that finasteride injections are still on track.

CK Regeon
CK Regeon. Dr. Kang-Yell Choi’s new company targeting CXXX5 inhibition in order to restore Wnt/beta-catenin signaling.

Make sure to read CK Regeon’s regular press releases. On Linkedin, the company currently has 8 employees. On the company’s Twitter page, they keep sharing an updated infographic on the benefits of Wnt pathway activation. The latest heading:

“WNT Pathway restoration, a therapeutic target for tissue regeneration, diabetic wound healing, hair growth, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), obesity and diabetes.”

On the company’s target diseases page and pipeline page, they include the above conditions as well as “countering short stature” and treating Alzheimer’s disease.

While I doubt that CK Regeon can cover all these bases, it is not surprising that the Wnt/Beta-Catenin signaling pathway is so crucial to human health.

Blocking CXXC5 and Improved Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signaling

Previously, we got excited about the potential of Samumed in curing hair loss by activating the Wnt pathway. Unfortunately, this company did not pan out after years of favorable publicity.

Another company named Frequency Therapeutics is trying to regrow inner ear hair cells via stimulating the Wnt signaling pathway. Fractional lasers and wounding also work on the same pathway, leading to a regrowth of scalp hair in some who are lucky.

CK Regeon’s overall technology entails blocking the CXXC5-Dishevelled (Dvl) protein-protein interaction (PPI). This is accomplished via the creation of new small molecules or peptides. This inhibition of CXXC5 results in restored Wnt/beta-catenin signaling and hair regrowth.

Note that CXXC5 is overexpressed in men with androgenetic alopecia (aka male pattern baldness). CXXC5 is a negative feedback regulator of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway.

Samumed, SM04554, Wnt/Beta-Catenin

Samumed’s Compound Structure

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I have covered Samumed and its SM04554 compound to treat hair loss dozens of times in the past. The company’s Phase 3 Trials end in 2020.

Samumed is aiming to treat numerous medical and cosmetic conditions via activating and/or modulating the Wnt signaling pathway. Of all those targeted conditions, androgenic alopecia is the furthest ahead and the only one that is currently in Phase 3 Trials:

Samumed Pipeline 2019
Samumed Pipeline: https://www.samumed.com/pipeline/default.aspx

Samumed Compound Structure

A few days ago, a reader named “Thomas” emailed me about a new Samumed patent (Publication date = November 22, 2018; Filing date = December 27, 2017).

Thomas pointed out something very interesting. For the first time ever, Samumed has published the chemical structure of its main Wnt/ß-catenin signaling compound. Right under the section titled “Abstract” in the above linked new patent.

Samumed Compound Molecule
Samumed’s Compound Chemical Structure.

Samumed has a decade-long online trail of numerous filed patents, with the vast majority of them including the names of their key scientists John Hood and Sunil Kumar. I have not tried to go through all of these online patent documents, especially those not focused on androgenetic alopecia (male pattern hair loss).

So I am not certain if the above chemical compound structure image is the first time that it has ever been released. It is also not clear if all of  Samumed’s products will be very close in structure to the above compound image. The company has published compound images in the past that look very different from the above (e.g., the one in here for cancer treatments; another in here for Indazole-3-carboxamides and their use as Wnt/β-catenin inhibitors and more).

It would be useful if readers (especially the Chemistry experts on here) provide relevant feedback to this post. For example:

  • What does this compound’s molecular structure mean and how is it unique from other compounds (Samumed ones and non-Samumed ones) that modulate Wnt/ß -catenin signaling?
  • How does this latest compound image differ from other related compound images that Samumed has published in the past?
  • If this really is the first time that this particular image has been released by Samumed, why so late in the process?