The Arrival of Multinationals and China in the Hair Loss World

For the past two decades, researchers and companies involved in the search for a hair loss cure have always been hindered by lack of sufficient funding. Promising avenues of research (e.g., Aderans and Intercytex) have had to be abandoned due to funding problems.

Investors are always looking for quick returns and do not have the patience to wait for 5-10 years. Especially for oftentimes speculative animal model based research to turn into successful commercial product releases for use in humans. Many world leading hair loss research scientists have complained about the lack of funding in interviews with me.

Multi-Billion Dollar Companies Arrive to the Hair Loss World

However, this situation is now changing rapidly. Multi-billion dollar multinational companies are entering the hair loss world (usually for the first time ever) via partnerships and/or acquisitions of existing small companies that are already primarily focused in the hair loss sector. Below I list in chronological order some recent examples of multi-billion dollar corporations entering the hair loss world either 1) directly; or 2) via acquisitions; or 3) via partnerships:

  • In August 2016, Histogen (US) announced that it had raised $6 million in funding from Pineworld Capital, an affiliate of Huapont Life Sciences (China). And a month later in September 2016, Histogen just updated us on the details of this China-specific collaboration. “Pineworld will focus on clinical development, registration, marketing and sales of the Hair Stimulating Complex (HSC) injectable hair growth treatment in China. Under the terms of the license, Histogen will receive milestone payments, a transfer price on the product, and escalating royalties on future sales.” Huapont Life Sciences (SHE:002004) currently has a market cap of $2.9 billion when converted from Yuan.
  • In the most important hair loss related news this year, in July 2016, Japanese electronics giant Kyocera announced that it was entering the hair regeneration market via a collaboration with the Japanese government-affiliated RIKEN Institute/Dr. Takashi Tsuji and Organ Technologies (Japan). As of today Kyocera (KYOCY) had a market cap of $18 billion.
  • In June 2015, Allergan (Ireland/US) acquired US-based Kythera Biopharmaceuticals (along with its Setipiprant prostaglandin D2 antagonist product). Allergan (AGN) currently has a market cap of $94 billion.Update: In 2019, Allergan was acquired by biopharmaceutical company AbbVie.
  • In May 2013, Shiseido (Japan) announced a technology transfer and collaboration agreement with Replicel (Canada). Shiseido is the world’s fifth largest cosmetics producer per wikipedia with a current market cap (TYO:4911) of $10.4 billion when converted from Yen.
  • Last but not least is privately-held Samumed, which is very optimistically valued at $12 billion. I am not sure of precisely when Samumed entered the hair loss world, but the company started clinical trials in Australia in early 2013.
  • Note: Honorary mention to Aclaris Therapeutics, which has a market cap of $540 million. The company entered the hair loss world in March 2016 with the acquisition of Vixen Pharmaceuticals.

China and Hair Loss Cure Research

While Histogen’s entry into China via Pineworld Capital/Huapont Life Sciences is not a direct testament to domestic hair loss research capabilities in China, at the moment I will take anything! Hopefully this will start a new trend in China just like we have witnessed in the US and Japan in the past decade, with hair loss research proliferating at numerous centers across those countries virtually every year.

Perhaps the most surprising thing on this blog in my three plus years of writing has been the lack of anything substantial happening in China. It is the world’s most populous country and the world’s second largest national economy after the US. I have covered very few Chinese hair loss researchers in my pasts post (e.g., Dr. Zhi-Qi Hu and Dr. Chunyu Han).

Mr. Liu Xuewu obviously does not count as a professional researcher, but I will mention him again in the hopes that he comes out of retirement some day soon.

Considering that the Chinese were the first at genetically modifying human embryos in 2015, it is surprising that they have not fast tracked any type of hair regrowth and cell based treatment programs. Or maybe they have and we just do not know?

147 thoughts on “The Arrival of Multinationals and China in the Hair Loss World”

  1. Definitely exciting to see the momentum building! Money has always been an issue with research but now it feels like we are slowly closing in from various angles and it’s not a matter of if, just when! Great post admin.

  2. I would definitely add Aclaris that got the rights from Dr. Christiano for JAK research, and now they are trying THE BIG TEST for MPB Starting 1st Quarter 2017.

    I have mentioned this several times as I want to make sure those who only visit the site on occasion are aware of it. And, after waiting year after year for this and that and everything failing. We finally have a large Pharmaceutical company $500 million market cap that is Officially Starting the test in just months. Wow. What a time we live in. If it works then it is just a scramble.

      1. Thanks Admin.

        If Phase I works it goes to the top in Massive Headlines sometime in 2017 and if it does not then we wait again this time for Tsui.

        Admin – 2017 1st Quarter the Big test begins. It seems as if it will not work or not work that well after all these years and rip off treatments. But maybe… it just might work perfectly.

        1. I have been 50/50 about writing a post on the recent JAK news…will decide this week, or else mention in the next “brief items of interest” post in 2 weeks.

      1. I had pieced several bits of very old information to logically conclude that JAK’s would work for MPB even when Dr. Christiano and everyone else said No Way.

        Now after several years they are finally about to Officially try it and we are just months away. Popcorn please…

    1. Truth. Desperation.

      I am so Freakin’ tired of what is happening to me.

      I would be for ANYTHING that would return me to normal. A friend is getting his 2nd Hairtransplant this one by an automated machine. I could have this done but I just think it is ridiculous and also my hair has become thin (each hair follicle).

      If this works ALL my hair becomes much thicker plus I get all the old hair that I had before it shrunk.

      You could not imagine how bad I want to be back to normal again. Anything.

      The JAK is the ONLY thing that we could potentially have in 2017. If it works believe me, where there is a will there is a way – for me.

  3. This is all just fugazzi!

    A billion dollar company doesn’t mean a billion or even anything is going into hair research. Companies have venture capital or funds dedicated to research, investments and other things. The only things that matter is how much money is directly investment into a particular program.

    And for any private company directly involved, I don’t see a billion dollar company. Samumed med, is mainly supported by IKEA funds, because of the ties, its founder has (through his brother) with IKEA (I guess).

    On another note, I think the major breakthrough in hair research is done when person to person hair transplant becomes routine.

    It’s scientifically possible to do so. The trick is not to transfer the whole follicle but the part the is immune resistant, called, Dermal Sheath Cells. So take a follicle from any person, separate Dermal Sheath Cells, and transplant that.

    In fact, few other organs are like that as well, for example, Cornea is transplanted from other people all the time. And it’s rejection rate is about 5% to 15%. If one uses local immune suppressive drugs, the rejection rare is even lower, close to negligent levels.

    Some people say, what if hair doesn’t look like mine, if it’s from others. Well the actual part that determines the hair is from keratinocytes, and that’s the part that is from your own body.

    The sad part is organ transfer from someone else is as far as I know illegal, and as you know, Hair follicle is considered an Organ. So you might have a hard time to find someone to do that.

    The bigger issue is to be able to separate Dermal Sheath Cells fast and efficient, and companies such as replicel have that technology.

    But apart from that, some one should do this. :D

    1. You are telling me that if Kyocera was worth $100 million it would mean the same thing for RIKEN/Tsuji?

      Would a $100 million electronics company even be able to invest $10 million into hair loss?

      1. Yes. I’m telling that the only thing that matters is that somebody has invested 10 million not the market cap of a company. Investments are rarely related to the market cap of companies. It’s irrelevant.

        1. You’re talking nonsense. Of course the entirety of a corporation’s market cap isn’t going into research, but that applies to the smaller, less financially viable companies of yore like Intercytex.

          Saying a small start-up vs. a billions of dollars market cap corp isn’t all that different is foolishness.

    2. @123456789

      You’re entirely correct. It doesn’t matter how much money the company has if they don’t invest money into the treatment. Neither does market cap… really it depends on their profits.
      Huapont Quarterly profits are about $25million, or $100m yearly
      Kyocera = $3bn yearly
      Allergan = $10bn yearly

      The thing is… is that these companies have the money to invest if they see a worthwhile investment, adding to it where they see necessary. Honestly if the hair loss research industry had the financial backing it had now 10 years ago, I think we would have already seen a treatment come out. But that is more of a chicken and the egg thing.

      Your Dermal Sheath Cells are and interesting theory but really… why does it need to be from someone else? Why not from the donor region and ignore the immune response? I think if it were that simple, we would already have the treatment (though I could be wrong or maybe your idea is fugazzi).

        1. Great article. I think it seems a bit obvious that they are creating a market presence, along with future potential, and hence the stock price goes up. They are going to corner the market in a way that it will be impossible to avoid them, similar to what WalMart did with the big box model.

          I think this is the only reason we will see Kyocera come out with a lower-cost for the initial treatments. So they can build a market presence before unleashing it on the world at large.

          Uber is doing the same. They are building out their company, making it multi-faceted before they IPO and need to worry about their bottom line. Instead they are innovating and creating a robust company. In turn they are spending money like hot cakes (does that analogy work?)

      1. I respectfully disagree. 1) The market cap value of a company is indicative of it’s success and therefore it’s influence in the industry(ies). 2) Very often if not all the time, the initial investment is but a little taster into the field to justify further investment, companies that have a larger market cap have more cash to throw in where needed. 3) Companies of this magnitude don’t get involved unless there’s big potential money to be made. a £100000 billion organisation wouldnt waste time investing for small returns, and so it shows they believe there is at least significant potential here, and that’s a great sign for us!

  4. Do you still have “no doubt what so ever that there will be a cure by 2020” ?? : )

    And what is the one company or idea that’s got your hopes up the most?

    1. aaron, if you read this blog in recent months, you will see that its pretty obvious what gives me the most hope.

      You say “idea that’s got your hopes up the most” and also “have no doubt what so ever…”

      “Hope” and “no doubt whatsoever” is an interesting pairing of words. Romeo and Juliet is a great play I heard. Have you read it?

      I just had two drinks….I always thought it would take me at least five to get tipsy….hmm…..

      1. The quote now doubt whatsoever was your quote from I think your first ever post.

        And what you saying about romeo and juliet. Lol hope and no doubt whatsoever.
        A think they had it sussedif you ask me. Nowt wrong in being fanatical about love. It can be a boring life if u let it

  5. Hey admin have you heard of L’Oreals 3d printing project going on? I was going to post link but it won’t let me access my clipboard.

    1. PRP Skeptic so all current treatments are due to billion dollar companies!!! Meaning future treatment will also come from billion dollar companies right?

    2. Point of post is that companies with billions are much more likely to be able to spend millions to help hair loss research progress. Seemed very obvious to me.

      1. You titled the post, “THE ARRIVAL OF THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR CORPORATIONS ” as if Big Pharma had never participated in this market space, but it’s been in this market space for about 20 years. Maybe you should have titled it, “companies with billions are much more likely to be able to spend millions to help hair loss research progress.”

        1. I noticed that you ALWAYS have positive thoughts to my posts and even though you said there will be no cure by 2030, you read this blog daily:-)

          You also never gave an answer to my comment on all the positive PRP studies out there that I listed in a post despite my asking you thrice. Nor did you respond to the positive PRP testimonials I posted (and several other readers did too) after your saying there were zero out there. Basically I wasted my time looking for those just to respond to your regular comments that PRP never works.

          FYI — your future positive, constructive, insightful comments will need to be approved by me first and will not automatically get posted. You are way too intelligent and could be working for Mossad …. so I hope you understand.

  6. While i have hopes for the jak inhibitors as they seem like they have potential, my only concern would be the erector pili muscles which surround hair follicles and become diminished with AGA but in the case of AA they are still their intact. This seems like a big difference between both conditions. Do you guys feel like this actually might be an issue?

    1. Do not over think it. We find out starting in teh 1st Quarter in 2017 until they officially tell us if it works for AGA surely sometime in 2017, Very soon we know for sure.

  7. Nasa rs, if you read this, can you twll me how on earth you suspect a jak treatment could come out in 2017. With trials, marketing and mass producing it seems impossible to me

  8. @nasa_rs, I agree with @Champpy. If the specific topical JAK they are working on for MPB works, it will still take a long time before we can buy it. But if we know it works and gives great results it will be worth the wait:-)

  9. Billion-dollar caps have never been so much involved in cutting edge treatment. This is a good sign and a sign of a race.

    On the contrary of what is stated above, the resource of the investors is as important of the amount of the investment himself. In most of the case is even not an investment but a backup…

  10. @nasa_rs I totally agree with your theory. JAK’s ARE the cure for MPB without a doubt. I live in a country where i can get a JAK’s prescription easily but won’t be experementing with myself :). The only thing stopping us from going all in on Jak inhibitors is the safety issue. Wish they could find a solution for this. Anyway fingers crossed for a cure in the next couple of years and thank u ao much admin for this wonderful blog.

    1. That is my point. I thought Tofac would be the best but it looks like Rux is going to be the best solution for hair loss for AGA. Although they have even more new JAK Inhibitors that have never been tested for hair growth. They have done safety tests for the 88 people thus far tested for AA and NO safety issues appeared that I am aware of. Now Aclaris is going to do more tests for both AA and AGA and that even more people can be checked for safety issues.

      If they find out Rux works in 2017. Where there is a will there is a way.

      Again a friend of mine is getting his 2nd hair transplant as we speak. I am not about to do that. One of my big concerns is my hair is thinner (each hair follicle) than in the past mainly from the effects of whatever causes hair to miniaturize.

      I want my miniaturized hair back to full cycle and my other hairs thicker too. And I believe that Rux will be able to do it. Just waiting for the scientific evidence to show it and that it is safe after being tested on more people.

    2. “Jak’s are the cure for MPB without a doubt”… please…. P L E A S E develop. How can someone possibly say something like that???????? Unless you have the proof it works? If you can demonstrate or even argument thoroughly and defend why Jaks ARE WITHOUT A DOUBT THE CURE FOR MPB… i’ll send u my private parts via UPS ;) otherwise… hmmm… shutup?
      @admin sorry for the language but man, ppl are simply and plainly stupid…

    1. farhan – that is simply great, I like the touch of angel wings for Dr. Christiano. Thank god she went bald otherwise we still would have nothing. Like they say, god works in mysterious ways. Sorry for your condition Dr. Christiano but you may have solved hair loss for millions of us.

  11. Admin, I think this post offers some great perspective under the category of “can’t see the forest for the trees”. We are all naturally focused on the details of each new possibility that comes over the horizon. However, stepping back and looking at the overall picture, what I see you focusing us on in this post is something I have always found is a simple and consistently very accurate indicator of what is occuring in a given situation: follow the money. It hadn’t dawned on me yet but I believe you are correct that more and “bigger” money from more sources is beginning to flow into this arena at a quickening pace. Yes, large pharmaceutical companies are already in the field, but primarily because their products were developed for another use and had the unintended consequence of growing or maintaining hair. Outside money is now beginning to flow and, at least in the case of Kyocera, from a giant with little if any connection to the pharmaceutical world. And there is definitely a noticeable flow into the possibilities centered around cell culturing. What it tells me is that there are growing numbers of investors who see the past 10 year “time line to return collapsing” and that bigger money is being sold on the possibility of a significant treatment occurring within a much shorter time frame. On a related note but along the “shortened time line to return” line of thinking, I was reading HairClone’s website and they say that “Although more scientific and clinical research is still needed before this concept can be fully developed, we believe that this could be a reality in 2-3 years”. They describe the evolution in 2 steps with the first being rejuvenation of existing but less damaged follicles. Since I have had prp/acell twice with noticeable but short term results, I believe it entirely plausible that the additional to the mix of even a weak cocktail of cultured cells (the first evolution if you will) could yield significant results compared to what is currently available. Maybe not exciting for those suffering from more aggressive hair loss, but a very exciting near term possibility for many of us.

      1. I don’t disagree that it won’t be approved as a regulated treatment in that time frame as the regulatory approval process alone would likely take a minimum of 3 years in most countries (Japan excepted ). What I am saying is that in 2 to 3 years, under the accelerated experimenting process envisioned by Hairclone and apparently allowed in England, I think it is plausible that they could move cell culturing to a level that would result in a significant inject-able treatment within 2-3 years. For example, I don’t see photographic proof today from any of the players where we could say that the treatment works significantly and consistently for 90% of the trial participants for AGA (beyond what we see with propecia/minox). I think it’s possible in 2-3 years, Hairclone may be able to show you photographic evidence where for example the minimum outcome might be a 20-30% gain. And I’m just speculating, but I think if they achieve that, you could have the treatment done in England, by one of the clinical partners, under the regulatory exception that is allowing the to experiment, assuming you could get in and afford it. I’m sure we will find out more details in the months ahead.

  12. Regarding the Money. Hair Loss sufferers in essence have funded the burgeoning field of Advanced Bio Research that is having a tremendous boost to human bio advancement. The money we have spent and companies we have supported with our money has spilled over into research that will result in growing people new Hearts, Lungs, Teeth and many other things.

    I also have wondered why the sudden boost in hair research. It is partly due to the spill over of technology into other future products. If you can grow hair then you can come close to growing teeth (they are very similar), and other organs.

    For now I am watching Aclaris like a Hawk for their Phase I. Also no matter what, 2017 is going to have even more exciting news for hair loss sufferers than 2016. Just think in 2014 and before we had absolutely no hope. Amazing. 2017 is my year. Where there is a will there is a way. I just need to know that it is safe, that it works, which lotion, and dosage.

    1. Well in a selfie absorbed world who doesn”t want to have some great hair?

      Non quack anti-aging will be soon a big thing too. Telomeres, stem cells, intercellular waste, senescent cells removal, sirtuins, metformin, gene therapies, birth rates etc.. will be very frequent words in 2020.

      2050 – designer babies, changing hair color through gene therapy and etc etc… I hope to still be alive and well.. and looking 25 again.

  13. Hey,
    Just read a question about Histogen & Mexico on HLT…
    Does anyone know if they or Shiseido had started their trials? I know Replicel was just in the news about not starting their trials but did it say anything about Shiseido?

  14. Great stuff Admin

    Money certainly talks. I remember a few years back inheriting a load of cash and out of the blue my ex wife fell in love with me again. I’ve never been happier, were back together and she takes care of all the finances. Well, with the help of some bloke called Mark? They work throughout the night to make sure everything’s okay?

    Investment has always been a problem in the hair loss industry, especially when I did not have enough bucks for a badly needed second transplant. With the big financial heavyweights ploughing in, it should be a game changer

    It’s also an indication that they believe a cure is now tangible. These sort of people don’t throw money at pipe dreams. They leave that to fools like me. Luckily I have the wife and that Mark to sort it out?

    Nasa, I love your enthusiasm mate. Fly me to the moon baby, obviously in a hair restoration way, not a romantic one. If JAKs work it would be incredible? The idea of a lotion restoring a full head of hair is mind blowing.

    I genuinely believe we are getting close. I feel sorry for all those snake oil salesman. What will they do once a cure is out? I think they should work on there sales technique though. A few years back a bloke introduced me this guy who claimed he had a cure. I didn’t buy from him. He was wearing a wig.

    Keep up the great work Admin

  15. Everyone knows that Aclaris is actually trying a treatment for AGA with JAK Inhibitors in the 1st quarter of 2017, Jan-Mar.

    What happens if we find out in June that it worked? Do people wait for Phase II, and Phase III and to get it in the local pharmacy in 3-4 years? Or do they at some point rush out and get it from some Foreign Pharmacy at maybe a large discounted price? I hope I am not one of them ;)

  16. A market cap is just the shares issued times price of the stock certainly isn’t a bad thing to be large but what really matters is how much was spent on R&D. which we all know to be tens of millions. …..can’t be a bad sign

  17. Hi, 2018 – Histogen + repricell + follica + brotzu = NW 5 to Nw1 ?
    Do you think 2018 has the cure ? Thnaks..

  18. NO, thoses will only be treatments until tsuji’s method…, they should be better than minox in terms of sides, and a slightly better cosmetic result than current sh***y treatments, but to reverse NW’s that’s near impossible…. my opinion.

    1. Impossible??? Ever seen what Prettyfly83 did with just dermarolling and Minox? Lol get out of here … everything’s possible with the right technique.

        1. You said it’s nearly impossible.. I have reversed full 2nws on minox, fin, and dermarolling. There are hundreds of other examples out there. Please don’t tell us what is or isn’t possible.

          1. Have you seen any nw 3-4s get back to 2. With dermaroll? And other hair non drugs? I won’t don’t fin internally. How much a day/time do you derma-roll?

  19. I was thinking of getting a hair transplant but now I want to wait and see the results for JAK phase 1. Transplanted hair and basically all your hair will look weird if you’ll use JAK and it proves to actually work and your hair start to grow back…

  20. All I have to say is I have read this blog for about a year now and I truly believe that @nasa_ra is spot on. JAK is going to be the answer. There are other markets in this industry but none have SOLID EVIDENCE like that of JAK and the results it has shown in AA hairlosss. It will be the answer for all of us and this blog will be come irrelevant in the next year as they begin trials and show VISIUAL PROOF that it works for MPB. What a time to be alive. THE TRUTH IS COMING

    1. 1st Quarter in 2017 they begin testing JAK on AGA then we ALL will know for sure. That’s not long to wait just a few months before the Trials to begin and they should not take that long.

      I think it is going to be Rux that turns out to be Best.

      Not even a hope 3 years ago of ANY treatment and now a possible 100% treatment comes down to about 3 more months.

  21. Just wait and see, if you believe that the solution will be there in a year, you will be very disappointend again if not so, be optimistic and realistic is my advice! I i think the solultion wil take us by suprise, when I don’t know!

    1. The ADMIN should split this website in half. And on one half have a clock showing 88 days Countdown. Then a Daily Update on The Status of JAK Phase I trials for AGA.

      It is that Important.

      We are not talking about Surgery, or Cell implantation, it is Your Own Hair, Your Hair Color, Your Hair Thickness, Your Hair Angle, Your Hair Texture. It is ALL you. And 100% of your hair back. That is what I call a treatment:)

      1. Yeah. It’s the dream.

        The hairloss industry won’t allow a JAK full cure like that too happen. They gotta nickel n dime people for a few more decades with slightly better expensive crap surgeries

      2. Lol nasa. You are either trolling or you are losing it.

        I imagine the daily update on jak to be something like: day 137- nothing new to report (see previous 136 days).
        Lol

  22. Samumed’s recent presentation at MedicalI no Atkins Summit uploaded on Hairlosstalk.com. Doesn’t give away much about phase 2B results. But SM04554 very much continues to be included in pipeline.

  23. It’s crazy how you come on here and JAK is hailed is the cure yet go to HLT and they hardly discuss it over there. You’d think there’d be a consensus among these drugs..

  24. blah blah….Shisedo is bickering with replicel over contractual obligation things…let’s just forget about that one. Been around forever and shown absolutely nothing. At least histogen showed us a jacked up photo.

  25. The current available treatments only give poor results and transplants look weird, not to say that if you really want some serious improvement most of the time you’ll need a second procedure. But even with that, your hair will never look very close to what it was before you started losing it. I’m 23 and I have a receding hairline, what you would call a norwood 2, maybe 2.5. still have plenty of hair to cover it , it’s unnoticeable if I style it the right way, but that. You are always worried about how it looks and you always try to stay away from the wind. The conclusion is that pretending you are not losing your hair it’s a waste of time and energy and it causes you to get very anxious. That’s the main reason I decided to shave my head a couple of months ago and I’m currently bald.
    Now I’m not gonna lie, of course I want my hair back but for me it’s no in between , either you have a full head of hair or no hair at all, I hate receding hairlines.
    Maybe there’s still hope, can’t wait to see those JAK test results on AGA.

    PS- my english may not be perfect but I hope you got my point

    1. Hey Vic
      I’m glad that you bit the bullet and shaved your head. I buzzed mine when I was about 24 to see what my head looked like if it ever got to that point and it was actually my haircut for the next 6 months after that.
      Then I grew it back out, probably a little longer than what I was used to, probably to start covering up the recession a little bit. And to this day I haves shaved my head again.
      My advice to you is: grow your hair out as long as you can, unless you are extremely happy with the shaved look. You still have a full head of hair right now with a NW2. The other reason is that when I noticed I was starting to recede I was about 24. I convinced myself that I was going to be NW 5 within 2 years. But the fact is is that it was been a very slow process and I can now say that I just became a legit NW3 this year (nearly 7 years later). It was a painful process at times and I swore that if I ever became a NW 3 I would shave it all off. But the thing is, with the slow process and the natural progression of maturity, you get some perspective on life and your hair and while I wish I still had a NW 2 and definitely have struggle with my hair on certain days… a NW 3 in my 30s is completely manageable. Everyone is different and will progress at different rates but I guess what I’m saying is to enjoy your hair while it lasts, however long that is.
      The good thing is that you have seen your head shaved… it’s not going to shock you if you need to do it. But really, even if you need to style your hair a certain way to feel comfortable, do it. Enjoy your hair as long as you can.

      Cheers.

      Ps. I’m a bit envious of you. I personally think we are nearing a next gen treatment and I’d give my left ball to have been born 5 years later if the treatment comes out soon. You will basically have some of the best maintanence treatments at your fingertips while you are still a NW2.

    1. JAK has ONLY been proven to work for Auto Immune type hair loss where it has re-grown 90%+ of hair back on most people using Rux over 6 months.

      Aclaris Pharma is about to test JAK on normal pattern hairloss in the 1st Quarter of 2017 in a Phase 1. We will know very shortly if it works.

      Note Rux and Tof, JAK Inhibitors, are already FDA Approved (for treating other medical uses).

  26. Hey @Curious, thank you for your support but I don’t think I’ll grow my hair longer, I’m just going to keep shaving it, it works for me. Growing it longer means spending at least 1 hour a day in the mirror and always having to deal with high anxiety and windy days are pure hell. It’s not worth it.
    A piece of advice to other guys that also want to shave their head, if you have pale skin like I have, it will be great to get a little bit of tan to avoid looking like a cancer patient, you know what I mean… not too much tanning, but just a little bit darker than your natural skin tone is will really improve the way you look bald.
    I’m not one of those guys that says: “Oh, it’s not a big deal, just go with it, shave it, it’s just hair…” Of course, let’ be honest, most of us look better with hair. That’s why even if I shave it regularly , I want to maintain what I have with minox. Who knows, maybe soon we will find a real working solution for AGA, science is amazing.
    For us guys, is a lot easier. In the subway I saw a lot of females and most of them pretty young, dealing with alopecia and that’s really sad. I don’t think we usually pay much attention to the girls hairlines but I’ve seen a lot of girls with NW2 , with diffuse and receded hairlines, with high hairlines, it looks horrible, for a female that’ really devastating. Girl can’t just shave it…
    @ FADI, @H
    And that’s only 3 months, most people get those results with finasteride and/ or minox in at least a year. It looks promising, but I expect better results. You can clearly see that that his hair is way longer and has better styling but his bald spot is still very noticeable.

    1. Androgenic Alopecia effects females and males differently. They don’t typically get receeding hair lines. Also, the female hairline is generally higher up and less defined than male hair lines. I’ve known a few women for about 20 years that have had a high hairline, a large forehead, and NW2 looking temples since I met them in their teens and they still have the same hairline and hair thickness to this day. It looks natural on them, yet if you put that hairline on a male, it would instantly looks like they are losing their hair.

      The vast majority of girls you see with high hair lines and “NW2” temples were most likely born that way, and are not suffering from AGA.

      With that said, i know for a fact that AGA can be especially devastating for females. Although they do not lose their hair in the same way males do, it can be very traumatic when they do begin to see the effects of AGA. Like you said, they can’t just shave it off so their only real option is concealment.

  27. Unfortunately no new pictures on this AA girls account …

    https://www.instagram.com/thealopeciaexperiment/

    I am always searching for pictures, because we all know photos say more than words.

    The only thing we have seen are those AGA pics from Histogen, however that guy with major regrowth is from almost a year ago.

    Still no reassurance, clock is ticking

  28. Both admin n nasa u believe jak the brightest hope for us. What you say to the below?

    I have told already.

    This is what the CEO of Aclaris said;

    “We are going to develop a topical JAK inhibitor, we know that a systemic JAK inhibitor doesn’t work in this indication. And there is actually a pretty good reason for that. You can’t achieve the right concentration… When you think about the drug going through the superficial dermal plexus, it can’t migrate up to the hair follicle bulge. So in AA it works because it works at the hair follicle bulb which is deeper down and more accessible through systemic circulation. Drugs don’t normally migrate up, so you have through the opposite way and go topically through the hair follicle, and we have actually shown this through pre-clinical models. ”

    And here is your damning proof… A study actually done in vivo (humans);

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27059729

    Tofacitinib has a multitiered response in patients with psoriasis: (1) rapid attenuation of keratinocyte Janus kinase/STAT signaling

    Results: In lesional skin keratinocyte pSTAT1 and pSTAT3 staining was increased at baseline but reduced after 1 day of tofacitinib (baseline, median of 1290 pSTAT11 cells/mm2 ; day 1, median of 332 pSTAT11 cells/mm2 ; and nonlesional, median of 155 pSTAT11 cells/mm2 ). Epidermal thickness and KRT16 mRNA expression were significantly and progressively reduced after days 1 and 3 of tofacitinib administration, respectively (eg, KRT16 decreased 2.74-fold, day 3 vs baseline, P 5 .016).

    pSTAT1 and pSTAT3, markers of JAK signaling, were highly increased in keratinocytes in lesional skin and dramatically reduced after 1 day of tofacitinib treatment.

    Rapid decreases in numbers of pSTAT11 and pSTAT31 nuclei in epidermal keratinocytes were observed after 1 day of tofacitinib treatment (median of 332 pSTAT11 cells/mm2 of epidermis and median of 23 pSTAT31 cells/mm2 of epidermis, Fig 3), indicating a rapid and direct effect on keratinocyte signaling.

    Ahh, so the drug doesn’t migrate up towards bulge level depth? Well in humans it clearly does, maybe not in those cute mice. It’s pretty comical.

    In fact it induces a rapid effect in the goddamn epidermis when taken systemically, which is the outermost layer of the skin

    1. So to summarize for the non-scientific readers.. the CEO is talking bull about the oral JAK not reaching the necesarry layers?

      1. He probably telling truth. That doesn’t mean lotion wouldn’t work. I just wanted response as this was put on another website by the biggest anti jak guy there. I wondered what others thought of this anti jak comment. Ie it helps put things into perspective. Negative comments often help people who are not grounded on a subject get a better perspective

  29. Hello ADMIN

    My request..
    Can you please Give numbers to comment and goto comment no. Option in blog so we can reach specific comment immidiately..

    Thanks a lot for your efforts and time for searching content and put it here.. For us..

    Lots of congrats…

  30. It sounds like he is saying that ORAL JAK will not work. For the most part we knew that. The trick is to make a Lotion that can penetrate the skin to deliver the drug. If I have to I will sand paper my head.

    Nothing in the above precludes me from believing that it will NOT work. Besides, we only have a few months longer to wait until they actually try the Lotion on humans in a Phase I. And, they only recently added the Phase I JAK for AGA and I doubt they would be trying it if they knew that it would not work. Companies do not throw around millions of dollars to just waste. Every research dollar is precious and they could always use it for another project if male pattern hair loss was not treatable.

    1st Quarter 2017 Mark It On Your Calendar Boys History Just Might Be Made.

    1. Totally agree.

      The only other company is the one trying to multiple folicues I forget the name (the only other hope). But I read an interview and there going into alot of detail about equipment for the hair transplant and the financial setup. It makes me wonder why not even more fuss is made of this. I mean they wouldn’t be going into this much detail if they didn’t know they could “clone ” a folicue.

      Isn’t this the holy grail of hair transplants? Why not more fuss ?

      Total agree with jak. Vo but hey two different options is better ie as backup. Damn looks good.

    2. It’s just the same info over and over isn’t it? We get it, oral jak is of no benefit to mpb. Let’s get some topicals on the go. The news that they plan to test a topical early next year has raised my optimism again. Let’s hope there are no delays and hold ups.

      What happens over the next few years really is my last ditch attempt at having hair.

  31. That’d be sweet if it did work but I am pretty skeptical. I do not think it would work as well as it has on AA. Their results are amazing but to my knowledge it’s a totally different process and cause.

  32. is media run by women…. like seriously…. I type hair loss news and its all about women loosing hair…like we guys are having fun about loosing our shit…..funny thing is whenever there is a break through in hair loss news…the biggest victims are 1. bruce wills 2. prince williams 3. wayne rooney 4. jason satham and some star trek guy….what about bald female actresses…why not show them….

      1. Also I might visit my bald friends and tell them some story of how I met a zulu tribal chief who put the blood of a sacred bird on my scalp then chanted whilst rubbing the backs of my hands with his thumbs. Next thing I know I woke in my bed and all my hair was growing back.

    1. I asked the same thing once.

      But it is not IF but WHEN we get all of our hair back. End of 2017 I get my hair back then…

      I grow it shoulder length, die it a dark brown with light brown highlights, maybe were beads and small feathers and occasional small leather headband it keep my hair out of my eyes.

      I guess I better start to get ready. I need to buy shampoo again (not just use soap), and silky conditioners. Might even slightly use a flat iron.

      I am telling you by the end of 2017 I will be using Rux. I’m not waiting anymore just need confirmation and to follow a few others who know what they are doing.

  33. @nasa.

    Could you please link again the info on the conducting clinical trials for jaks on mpb early next year.

    Regards.

    1. I keep looking at the Pipeline chart hoping that it moves. They may be slow in updating it. And just waiting for word through the web as to the success or failure, should announce on quarterly telecons what the status is of the Phase I.

      Just hope the JAK for AGA does not disappear from the Pipeline. I have to think positive, maybe go buy conditioners today.

    1. Funny Optimistic. Tell that to the AA type hair loss sufferers who are walking around with a Full Set of Hair.

      You guys have been too bald for too long. This is a treatable condition now, get it? And I want my treatment at the end of 2017. Failure is not an option. Where there is a will there is a way.

      1. haha Nasa…you will. Until one of these treatments is on market, you will go bald. It’s not something you have much choice in. And at the end of the day, nothing has been proved to be effective in the treatment of AGA. Not JAKs , regardless what you say. There has been no empirical evidence released yet to suggest this. You are setting yourself up for a huge let down, and also just annoying as hell with your persistent repetition of the same scraps of info. The reality is –
        – JAK hasn’t been proven to be effective for AGA.
        – We have no idea about the safety of such a treatment in otherwise healthy individuals.
        – The price will be horrendously high, insurance WON’T cover it there is no way your average guy will be able to afford it for a long time. They will price it for the top market segment before lowering it after years. By then you will be bald.

        1. @gbh

          “And at the end of the day, nothing has been proved to be effective in the treatment of AGA”

          Anti-androgens for maintenance, minox and many other things for minor regrowth, and 17beta-estradiol for massive regrowth in many people. Of course, the latter isn’t a viable option for most of us. ;)

          1. Was referring to JAK. I’ve had solid regrowth from nutrition, massage and minox. Just don’t see JAKs being the answer. Hope they aren’t too, no chance its worth the risk.

  34. nasa_rs :

    Where do you get 1st Quarter of 2017 from? Please tell me you’re not basing that strictly on the pipeline bar graph.

    1. The company had a statement somewhere that stated they were going to start testing Phase I for AGA in the 1st Quarter of 2017.

      Remember this is a big public company they do not fool around. They mean business. If they stated 1st quarter they will start then it will be 1st quarter. In fact, I was surprised that they started the ATI-5003 at the same place as they had the two experiments with AA (both oral and lotion). The two AA pipeline had been there for 9 months and then suddenly they put AGA Phase I at the same place as them and mentioned that they were starting at the same time 1st quarter 2017.

      1. There is absolutely no reason to believe that JAK will do anything for AGA. The fact that it’s a “big public company” doesn’t mean it’s going to work; companies file patents and trial things that are dead ends ALL THE TIME.

        The reason it sounds too good to be true that a drug or topical solution is going to reverse your AGA is because it is.

  35. @Admin any thoughts on these FolliOne products? Not overly sold but was surprised to see them on Amazon claiming superior results to Minox.

  36. The one thing I cannot believe is someone must have very recently tried Lotion Rux on male pattern hair loss, some researcher somewhere putting it on themselves.

  37. I repeat in one of aclaris conferences the ceo said that they will be developping topical jak for AGA since oral doesnt work and THAT HIS COLLEAGUES WERE TRYING IT AND THE RESULTS SEEM INTERESTING …

    I waited in all conferences to see if he can elaborate on this one but it didnt happen yet…. that’s the only phrase that has been told regarding AGA …

    So probably they have seen results from already approved jaks but they are working to develop their own topical jak to give better results… there is no way that jak doesnt work for aga and its on the pipeline of such a big company but we have to wait and see to what extant it works … what do “interesting results” mean …

    1. sounds like Trump. “I have people investigating down in Hawaii and you wouldn’t believe what they are finding” quote, the billion dollar demonic messiah in ump loompa’s clothing.

  38. @nasa_rs – what about the ridiculously high prices of JAXs right now? I know that is a much smaller detail down the line, but are you concerned with getting and paying for JAXs, if it is approved to work on MPB?

    1. I like the question as we should be looking ahead and not think of our selves as male pattern hair loss types anymore. But I would simply be in shock for a while if I found out it actually worked.

      1. But seriously, once you get past the shock, do you think the next battle would be trying to afford the solution? Or it could go down if they mass produce the stuff? Also, do you think, if it works, you only need to use it until you grow your hair back or forever?

  39. Lol watch JAK inhibitors work awesome for mpb, and then insurance not cover the cost and it be way too expensive for anyone to be able to buy it.

    1. People will find a way to pay for it, trust me. When people want something bad enough they will take out loans, remortgage property, etc.

  40. know what is depressing? Follicle Thought has Replicel as like his most likely/important/relevant treatment for MPB on his chart thingy…that is sad.

    1. ya, I heard contradicting theories on this too recently man…so very confused I just didn’t bother anymore.

  41. https://www.samumed.com/publications/default.aspx

    New presentation from Samumed, on the website of the royal society of medicine you can find the video.. the CEO states that regarding the slide of alopecia the green is the wnt signaling working and above the cells are deviding in more cells and creating hair follicles which then are moving up to the surface…. if this is true, and according to the picture it looks like it.. this would mean the results from last march are indeed not significant for the eye.. but give it time, and more and more follicles will be surfacing…. this whole samumed company is just crazy awesome… just watch the presentation and listen to the presentation, I am sure the increase of 10% in hair count was just the beginning..

      1. Anon… I’ve been wanting to comment on this but haven’t had the appropriate time to write something worthwhile. After watching that presentation, my initial reaction seems to have been a bit reactionary… keep the conversation going. I’ll try to put my 2 cents in with what I think they did with that test in the next couple of days.

  42. Hey admin, this is off topic but has Aclaris made it clear when they will begin clinical testing of Jak inhibitors on androgenetic alopecia either orally or topically? Their pipeline on their website seems to state that they are concentrating on wart treatment right now with no indication when AGA testing will begin (though it is mentioned).

    Thanks!

    1. On their website you can find press releases and a whole bunch of pdf’s.. if you open the financial figures Q2 2016 they mention they started pre-clinical development op jak topical for AGA, there is no statement anywhere on when they begin testing phase I. We have to wait for an update from their side.

      1. It may have been from the CEO at a public conference or wherever but I distinctly hearing it or reading it from the company. 1st Quarter 2017.

  43. Trying to guess how the pricing for Rux might pan out. @nasa do you know what the dosage of Rux is that they are looking to use in the topical? Currently 60*5mg tabs is 1800. As a treatment, two are taken per day, however I think dosage in a hair product will beuch less. Still, my estimate would be that this will come in easily above 500 per month.

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