Finasteride Injections, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, Finasteride Microspheres

Finasteride Injections for Hair Loss

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in 2019, South Korean Researchers successfully tested finasteride injections as a new potential treatment for hair loss. They developed a unique finasteride-loaded microspheres delivery system for these injections. I am updating this post due to new developments in this technology and clinical trial initiation in 2021 (see further below and h/t to “James”).

Finasteride Injections
Finasteride injections and hair growth.

The best part of this treatment is that you only need to get one injection treatment per month. While the initial research was in mice, the scientists seem to be confident that this will work in humans too.

Note that others have tried this in the past too.

  • One interesting successful test in Brazil in 2019 entailed injections containing a blend of minoxidil, finasteride, biotin, and D-panthenol.
  • A more extensive study was done in India in 2017. The results in this one found 10 percent of patients taking oral finasteride getting loss of libido; versus 5 percent of patients undergoing mesotherapy treatment with finasteride.

Finasteride Injections Superior to Oral Finasteride

Most importantly, the hair growth results from the finasteride-loaded microsphere injections were superior to those from oral finasteride. The injection group’s hair growth success rate was 93.3 percent, compared to the oral formulation group’s 86.7 percent. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels remained lower and comparable to oral finasteride even 10 weeks after a single injection.

Dr. Kim Beom-joon from Chung-Ang University Hospital led this work. The researchers also published an important related paper in June 2019 titled: “Development of finasteride polymer microspheres for systemic application in androgenic alopecia.”

The 5α-reductase inhibitory effect of the finasteride-loaded microspheres lasts for 4 to 8 weeks following one single injection. The injections and delivery technology are manufactured by Inventage Lab. Dr. Kim states that by minimizing the intake of finasteride, potential side effects such as erectile dysfunction and decreased libido would be reduced.

Daewoong, Inventage Lab and Clinical Trials in 2021

In 2020, Daewoong Pharmaceutical (South Korea) began a partnership with Inventage Lab to develop long-acting injections (LAI) for drug delivery. In September 2021, Daewoong won approval to commence Phase 1 clinical trials in Australia for its finasteride injections.

The Daewong-Inventage partnership seems to have two finasteride injection versions known “IVL3001” and “IVL3002”.

Update: January 2025 — Per a new article:

  • IVL-3001 will be a monthly injectable treatment.
  • IVL-3002 is a three-month formulation that will compete with Dutasteride injectable CKD-843, also being developed in South Korea.

Daewoong aims to release this product in 2023, so there must be some way in which the trials will be allowed to proceed fast. IVL3001 is an injection formulation of finasteride-loaded polymer microspheres.

In June 2021, Daewoong reached an agreement with Inventage Lab to develop long-acting hair loss drugs using the latter’s controlled drug release technology. This drug delivery system (DDS) is known as IVL-PPFM and it facilitates production of microspheres with “controllably repeatable” sphere sizes.

We have all been waiting patiently for many years to get access to a reputable branded topical finasteride. Our best hope is Polichem and its P-3074, which was finally released in parts of Europe in 2021. Perhaps finasteride injections will turn out to be an even more effective hair loss treatment. Assuming side effects are negligible.

Dutasteride Injections

Note that in 2017, we already read about mesotherapy (injections) with dutasteride giving great hair growth results. I wrote another post on dutasteride injections in 2018. This treatment is especially popular in Spain.

I hope that in the near future, we can soon also get finasteride injections to treat our hair loss. Especially in clinics in the US. And down the road, via a delivery system designed by a professional biopharmaceutical company such as Daewoong.

Cassiopea, Drew Brees, FAK Inhibitor, Wound Healing

FAK Inhibitors, Cassiopea and Drew Brees

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An interesting week in hair loss news warrants a wide ranging post.

Update: Make sure to read the comments from FAK inhibitor study co-author Dr. Kellen Chen in the comments section of this post.

FAK Inhibitor for Hair Loss

In recent days, a few people discussed this Stanford University research (first posted by “DrPhil”) on our hair loss chat.

FAK Inhibitor Hair Growth
FAK inhibitor skin healing and hair follicle regrowth at 180 days. Source: Nature Communications.

The researchers found that blocking mechanical signaling via FAK (focal adhesion kinase) inhibition promotes regenerative skin healing. Moreover, this restored skin includes hair follicle regrowth in addition to normal collagen fiber architecture. Most importantly, this hair regrowth was shows in both mice and pigs.

This is significant because porcine skin has striking similarities to human skin. The researchers used a pharmacologic inhibitor of FAK (FAKI) called VS-6062. This pharmacologic blockade of mechanical signaling resulted in skin with less scar formation and more hair.

The FAK was delivered to wounded skin using a biodegradable and biocompatible hydrogel scaffold.

Better than Verteporfin?

Per @DrPhil on our chat:

“This VS-6062 FAK inhibitor does the same thing as verteporfin, but it inhibits a target which is upstream of YAP. Verteporfin only inhibits YAP, while VS-6062 inhibits FAK (which controls YAP) and also other targets. FAK inhibitors can also be applied topically, with no injections required. Moreover, VS-6062 has already gone through Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials to treat cancer.”

According the Stanford team, porcine serum FAKI concentrations following local treatment were almost undetectable. In fact they were less than 1% of the maximum tolerated human dose observed in a previous Phase 1 clinical trial. So safety issues are likely to be nonexistent in my opinion.

Interestingly, the earlier verteporfin research was also undertaken at Stanford, via the Longaker Lab.

Cassiopea Topline Results for Female Hair Loss

We are eagerly awaiting Cassiopea (Italy)’s Phase 3 Trials for Breezula for androgenetic alopecia (male pattern hair loss). However, several days ago, the company posted an encouraging update on its Phase 2 proof of concept trial for clascoterone use in female hair loss patients. Clascoterone is a topical androgen receptor inhibitor, and its hair growth benefits are almost certainly going to be greater in men.

The trials encompassed 293 women aged between 18-55. The were split into four groups: 5.0% and 7.5% twice daily application of clascoterone solution; versus twice daily 2% Minoxidil or vehicle. Only the subgroup with women less than 30 years of age receiving twice daily application of 5% clascoterone solution showed statistically significant differences from baseline in total hair count at month 6. No safety issues were detected.

Cassiopea Clascoterone Hair Loss
Cassiopea pipeline for clascoterone to treat hair loss.

Drew Brees Hair Transplant

Drew Brees is a superstar quarterback in American Football (NFL). The 42-year old retired in 2021 after a stellar career. He was also well known for his early hair loss and receding hairline…until this week. Looks like he got a hair transplant with excellent results.

Drew Brees Hair Transplant
Drew Brees hair before and after.

I have discussed numerous other celebrity hair transplant results over the years. Among the most famous athletes who got hair transplants include Wayne Rooney and Brian Urlacher. Possibly also Lebron James.