Cynata Therapeutics Open to Alopecia Therapy Collaboration

Stem cells and ‘the cure for hair loss.’ In our minds they go hand-in-hand, don’t they? Since the initial emergence of stem cell technologies in regenerative medicine, many have wondered if these technologies could be used to treat hair loss or alopecia. Today, many stem cell companies are developing technologies that would appear to make great candidates for hair growth therapies. One such company is Cynata Therapeutics. The platform technology from Cynata, known as Cymerus™, enables the mass-production of MSCs or mesenchymal stem cells. Cymerus™ is a unique technology platform that seeks to overcome many of the challenges associated with utilizing MSCs for therapeutic indications.

Here’s a short video which gives an overview of the the Cymerus™ technology:

Upon learning about the Cymerus™ platform, I reached out to Cynata to ask if the idea of using their highly functional stem cells to treat hair loss was of interest to the company.  Dr. Ross Macdonald, CEO of Cynata Therapeutics told Follicle Thought:

“There is clearly widespread interest in the potential utility of MSCs in alopecia but we simply do not have the bandwidth at present to develop our own data in this indication.  We would however happily consider proposals from companies with an interest in hair loss to consider a business co-operation where our Cymerus™ MSCs could be studied for their possible utility.”

The appeal of a hair regeneration therapy utilizing this type of MSC technology is big. This may only be a glance into the future as of now, but a theoretical treatment using these scalable MSCs would involve a patient arriving at a clinic and receiving a stem cell injection, with no need to harvest any of their own tissue. It’s probably like the “stem cell baldness cure” that you imagined when you first heard that term. The Cymerus™ technology represents an auspicious opportunity for the hair growth industry. Getting the word out to industry figures who could potentially partner with Cynata is the first step towards realizing that goal.

Cynata Therapeutics is currently engaged in a phase 1 clinical trial for the indication of graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD) utilizing its lead therapeutic product, CYP-001. The company has reported early safety and efficacy from that trial. Ultimately, Cynata expects the GvHD clinical program to pave the way for clinical trials in other indications, which may be conducted by either Cynata or its partners. For more information please review the Cynata website.