Epibiotech Interview 2021

In this article we will hear about recent advances made by Epibiotech in their efforts to create an effective cell therapy for hair growth.

Korean Biotech Specializing In Hair Follicle Research

Below is a quick video displaying the company atmosphere at Epibiotech. This video is also shared on the homepage of Epibiotech’s website. Note, the company was previously named “Stemore.”

As you can see, Epibiotech has a well established team and facility where they conduct daily research in hair follicle biology. It’s impressive to think the company was founded by Jong-Hyuk Sung, a Professor of Pharmacy at Yonsei University, after one of his published papers on hair growth research received so many inquiries from the public that it inspired him to make it become a reality. The Epibiotech R&D pipeline has changed over the past two years and now currently shows four potential therapies for treating hair loss, including topical and oral drugs and a cell therapy. To gain a better understanding of what’s going on and where things are headed at Epibiotech, I’ve conducted an interview with the head of their research lab.

Interview With Epibiotech R&D Director Nahyun Choi PhD 

FT: On the Epibiotech website, it appears that EPI-001 is the lead program. Can you describe this technology? When should it enter clinical trials?

NC EPI-001 is a cell therapy containing dermal papilla cells as its main component. Dermal papilla cells have not been developed as a treatment due to culture problems even though they are key cells of hair growth function. We overcame the disadvantages of culture by developing hypoxic culture processes and a medium suitable for DP cells. There have been several issues so far, so non-clinical trials have been postponed slightly, but non-clinical trials will begin in December 2021 and we will begin clinical trials in the second half of 2022.

 FT: Are there still other versions of cell therapies being developed, such as modified adipose cells, or has the focus shifted now on creating an optimal dermal papilla therapy?

NCOur top priority is the development of DP cell therapy. However, an EPI-001 follow-up cell therapy is also under development. For example, genetic editing technology is being used to develop homogeneous DP cell therapy technology that removes immune responses and enhances functionality.

FT: Your team seems to have conducted a multitude of research over the last several years. What has been the most difficult challenge you have faced in preparing a cell therapy for a human trial?

NC: Small ventures such as our company lacked cell therapy facilities in Korea to carry out non-clinical and clinical trials for our cell therapy. Of course, there are cell therapy production facilities in Korea, but they are suitable for the size of large pharmaceutical companies, so they did not fit the production size of small companies. To overcome this, we bravely invested our efforts in building GMP production facilities. In addition, we are preparing to develop homologous cell therapy in consideration of global marketability, not just developing autologous cell therapy. It seems to be a difficult task to develop technology for this.

 FT: What is the potential timeline to market approval for EPI-001 if it is successful in trials? Are there new regulations enacted by the Korean health authorities? (we have recently heard another Korean based company in the news talk about a potential fast timeline to market for their DP cell therapy)

NC: We expect non-clinical trials to begin in December 2021, clinical trials in the second half of 2022, and to be released on the market in 2025-2026. The Advanced Regenerative Medicine Act is a law that contains contents such as the establishment of a rapid permission system and a safety management system by unifying various regulations related to biopharmaceuticals. The company you heard about is not our competitor. It is true that the company is developing a DP cell therapy, but it is a completely different culture technology from ours, and I understand that the company is focusing on the long-term storage of DP cells.

 FT: Is the creation of lab grown hair follicles in your plans of development?

NC: Organoid technology is currently under development. Hair organoids are still in the early stages of technology development compared to those of other organs. We have set up the current technology and plan to develop it in the future and use it as a screening tool.

 FT: Your company also functions as a CMO (contract manufacturing organization) and CRO (contract research organization). Can you briefly describe what type of services you provide and what type of companies could benefit from your services?

NC: The CRO service is a hair loss test service that utilizes our research experience related to hair loss. Hair growth efficacy evaluation and mechanism-related gene analysis are performed for potential therapies. Since the second half of last year, it has had considerable sales performance. The company that will be our customer can be academy, government-related institutions, and companies engaged in hair growth-related research like us, and includes companies in cosmetics-related industries.

The CMO is a business that utilizes the recently completed GMP facility. It is a rental business not only for the development of our own treatments but also for the development of treatments by other companies.

 FT: For clarity, the EPI-004 therapy in your pipeline is listed for the condition of “whitening.” Is this a treatment for whitening of the hair or a skin condition?

NC: EPI-004 is being developed as a skin whitening treatment.

Discussion

The major point of interest here is Epibiotech’s injectable dermal papilla cell therapy which will hopefully enter a human trial next year in 2022. The company has taken up the task of creating a DP cell therapy which maintains its hair growth inductiveness, this is the area where previous companies have failed. We know the starting date for the trial is not set in stone, but it gives us a point of reference. The question as to when such a treatment could be approved was asked to help us better understand the new regulatory paths in South Korea. Once again, the idea is not to hold Epibiotech to their projections, but we have a better idea of potentials now.

The follow-up therapy to EPI-001 which Dr. Choi mentioned would be an “off the shelf” or allogeneic cell therapy which would not require a patient to provide any sample tissue to make the therapy; see the platform technology 2 infographic. Naturally, they will need to create a successful autologous version first.  For those that have been paying attention to Epibiotech’s website (and based on Dr. Choi’s response) you’ll notice that the illustrated image of hair organoids repopulating a bald man’s scalp has been removed, the company is not focusing on creating lab grown hairs for transplantation, only for drug testing. Finally, yes there are other treatments in Epibiotech’s pipeline such as a PGD2 inhibitor, however, I was informed that there is not much to be shared at this time as the company’s main focus is on the DP cell therapy. 

Thanks to Epibiotech for completing the interview and best wishes on your efforts in the coming months.

117 Comments

  1. Follicle Thought on November 16, 2021 at 7:00 pm

    Epibiotech of South Korea is one of the few independent companies in the world who are working daily in their labs on hair growth specific projects. ?



    • Shayak on November 17, 2021 at 7:54 am

      Great article as always admin, autologous cell therapy might be a cure isn’t it? If by applying multiple injection it can show result. Well atleast we will know if this method works in 2022(Hairclone, epibiotech) and don’t have to wait for a decade to know if this works at all in humans.



      • Follicle Thought on November 17, 2021 at 9:10 am

        Thanks Shayak. I can’t say whether their cell therapy might be a cure. I would say that I believe Epibiotech has the most promising DP cell therapy out of any companies who are working on it because I believe they have done extensive research into solving the culturing problems of DP cells.



        • Follicle Thought on November 17, 2021 at 9:13 am

          There are at least 2-3 readers who will ask “is there news coming?” or “when is the next article?” So, for those people and more, what’s your feedback on the article? What do you think of Epiobio’s cell therapy and the potential for a trial next year?



          • MasterV on November 17, 2021 at 12:08 pm

            Hey FT,

            Thanks for the article. Looks promising. If not a cure at least something that will give better results than Min. And Fin. Or help a person with a lower Norwood. Was kind of thinking of getting SMP next year to buy some time. What do you think? I was seeing photos of ppl with long diffuse hair getting it and it looked great, just not too sure. Still doing research.

            Thanks again for the article. Hopefully one of these companies comes through for us??



            • Follicle Thought on November 17, 2021 at 1:07 pm

              MasterV, thank you. In general, I think SMP is a very good option for people who are looking for some type of relief from the appearance of thinning hair while they wait for more powerful treatments or decide to move on. My advice, do your due diligence thoroughly to find a top notch clinic and if you are getting SMP on your hairline make sure you find an artist who creates natural looking hairlines.



          • MasterV on November 17, 2021 at 3:01 pm

            Thanks for your response FT.
            Yeah I’m definitely doing some DD. I’m more concerned with my crown/vertex. It would be nice to have something to help me stall until the next 5 or so years until we get better treatments or if possible the holy grail. Lol



        • Mattt on November 17, 2021 at 12:18 pm

          Interesting perspective, I wonder if Hairclones culture method will be sufficient to produce viable DP cells (i.e ones that assimilate into the DP in enough numbers and result in a reversal of miniaturisation)?

          On a side note, I received an email from the Farjo clinic where I had my follicles extracted for banking seeking permission to pass my contact details onto Hairclone, this is in the expectation that they will be contacting bankers regarding availability of their treatment next year.
          Although not new news, does reinforce Paul Kemps comments in that recent IHRS video.



          • Jade on November 24, 2021 at 4:29 pm

            Hi Matt, I am thinking of banking my hair folicles with Farjo clinic as well. However I am a bit concerned that the extraction of the folicles might cause scarring at the back of my head and I wanted to have the option to shave in the future if the treatment fails.

            Do they use the FUE method in order to extract the folicles for the banking?
            As far as I understand they take about 50 grafts from the back of the head, is this enough to cause visible scarring if you shave your head?

            Thanks in advance.



          • Matt on November 25, 2021 at 1:25 pm

            Hi Jade
            Yes approx. 50 -100 grafts they extracted,
            They shaved down a small strip of my hair at the back and extracted in a similar manner to FUE.
            My hair is currently at 2mm and there is no sign at all that they extracted anything. Not sure how it looks if were to shave it with a razor but I expect it would be barely noticable.



    • Alvaro on December 1, 2021 at 5:15 pm

      Hi admin! As always, thank you for your selfless work towards all of us who suffer from this problem. This news is very interesting, since in my opinion the real cure to baldness is based on the DP cells, and that this company has planned a clinical trial in humans in 2022 is very exciting. What has not been very clear to me from the interview, is whether this therapy is based on regenerating follicles that are in the process of miniaturization due to the presence of DHT or is it also capable of regenerating follicles that have already died? This question is asked very correctly in the interview with the admin company, but it is not very clear to me. Much encouragement to all! and thank you very much for your work J.



      • Follicle Thought on December 1, 2021 at 6:54 pm

        Thanks Alvaro, we will find out more when the trial starts. I don’t think even Epibiotech can say for themselves if this therapy can grow new follicles itself. But it sounds well developed, so let’s see.



  2. Harry on November 17, 2021 at 11:49 am

    Thank you admin for the article.

    I wish they get success and do their trail as early as possible.

    Clock is ticking dor hair loss sufferers and too long wait is distressing.



    • Follicle Thought on November 17, 2021 at 1:04 pm

      I understand Harry. It seems that waiting is unavoidable and part of the process. Unless of course, someone with $50M steps to the plate and tries to expedite research internationally.



  3. John Doe on November 17, 2021 at 12:23 pm

    What is the timeline for the other 3 treatments they have? Is there something quicker coming? I think everybody is just sick to hear another company talking about it needs again 5 years because its always 5 years and at the end they just close or disappear or have results like 5 hairs more after 6 months.



    • Follicle Thought on November 17, 2021 at 1:15 pm

      So, to be frank about it, people will have to get over the issue that treatments need around 5 years to go through clinical trials. For any legit treatment, Clinical Trials are part of the process. Point blank.

      The whole “5 years away” saying really got blown out of proportion in my opinion by people listening to mainstream news articles which would typically say “the treatment is around 5 years away from being in the clinic.” This would happen when mainstream media decides to do an article on the latest University research, and when asked how long it would take to be available to patients, the scientists would have to say “it would take around 5 years.” Then the mainstream news who has vague interest in the subject would print that timeline and the common person would continue hearing that the cure is 5 years away. Really, the “hair seeking” community created that meme itself. Most of us should know better. At least 50% of University research is not worthy of further development into a therapy and about 95% of any worthwhile research doesn’t get the funding that it needs to turn into a company. You can look back at virtually any article on University research who made the news and most of them never even got started.

      If treatments go through the clinical trials and they don’t work, oh well, kudos to them for trying.



      • Arias on November 21, 2021 at 1:34 pm

        Oh gosh, thank you Admin for the part about the “5 years away” stuff, I really can’t stand those people anymore! Seriously they don’t understand what it takes to produce a treatment and test its safety and effectiveness?? After all it’s for their own safety ?
        Many of these treatments are even available on black market, if they are willing to risk their life on some stuff produced in some south Asian basement, with no medical control, no guarantee, no certification, no studies on their safety…



  4. I am balding and I’m sad on November 17, 2021 at 12:55 pm

    Admin ,

    Why do you believe this will work different than the likes of RCH or histogen? We know that autologous DP cell injections is hardly effective



    • Follicle Thought on November 17, 2021 at 1:19 pm

      I am: I don’t know if it will work, but I think it has a much better chance because like I mentioned this team has been working specifically on how to improve DP cell culturing. They mention hypoxic conditions and a proprietary culture media.



  5. Laverdad on November 17, 2021 at 12:56 pm

    Well established facility? I see one microscope a laptop and a meeting room in the video. Sorry to say, but that doesn’t look impressive at all.



    • Follicle Thought on November 17, 2021 at 1:00 pm

      Laverdad: 1) Have you ever worked in a professional biotech lab?

      2) Did you see the whole entirety of Epibiotech’s lab?

      3) Do you have any idea how much just the lab space in the video costs?

      4) Do you know what type of lab equipment/space is necessary to create a dermal papilla cell therapy?

      I know the answers to these questions, but I’ll let you tell it.



  6. Follicle Thought on November 17, 2021 at 1:26 pm

    I believe I posted this photo recently in another thread, but once again, here is a look at what DP cell injections can do. This was before advanced culturing techniques were thought of, and I believe this was only one set of injections. Pay attention to the rim of his crown and the shrinking of his bald spot, that is where regrowth will take place first: https://folliclethought.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Aderans_Result_Vertex.png It takes a lot of individual hairs to close that much space.

    Also, just FYI, Epibiotech has raised around $8M in Korea, a very considerable amount of money.



    • D1 on November 17, 2021 at 3:08 pm

      What is the difference between these companies and shiseido?



      • Follicle Thought on November 17, 2021 at 4:18 pm

        Shiseido uses dermal sheath cup cells and a different culturing process, which by the way has been improved by Replicel lately, but is not shared with Shiseido yet.



  7. Shayak on November 18, 2021 at 10:36 am

    What do you guys think about Amplifica?



    • Follicle Thought on November 18, 2021 at 8:04 pm

      Their timeline looks great for trials ?



  8. blave on November 22, 2021 at 5:38 am

    19-10-2021
    HopeMedicine is an innovative biopharmaceutical company based on Professor Xiao Ruiping and his team from the School of Future Technology of Peking University, based on decades of research results in the field of translational medicine. At present, the company has completed the B round of financing, signed a global exclusive license agreement with Bayer for the development and industrialization of the monoclonal antibody HMI-115 targeting the prolactin receptor (PRLR), and is developing and industrializing multiple indications worldwide change. This antibody has the function of promoting hair growth and has a therapeutic effect on hair loss. It has shown excellent characteristics in animal models and human safety, and has obtained the approval of the US FDA Phase II clinical trial. In the near future, the US Phase II clinical trial will be launched. The patient was enrolled. In addition, Herqirui has also carried out the R&D and industrialization of more high-end innovative drugs through the dual-drive model of license-in (authorized introduction) and independent research and development.

    source: https://www.imm.pku.edu.cn/kytd/rcdw/34165.htm



  9. Mr. Burns on November 22, 2021 at 8:33 am

    I’m all for this company starting trials to know what we have but I don’t see anything in that link that backs up anything you said in your post.



    • Follicle Thought on November 22, 2021 at 10:37 am

      It always helps to clarify who you’re speaking to. I believe your comment was directed at blave.



  10. Mr. Burns on November 22, 2021 at 1:29 pm

    Follicle Thought,

    Yes, my comment is as for blave. I looked around and all I found was that a trial HMI-115 maybe might be starting for endometriosis in women.

    Here is what I’m basing that off of:
    https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05101317

    I don’t see how that could be used to evaluate male pattern baldness in men, since the trial is for women. If I’m missing something, someone please let me know.



    • Follicle Thought on November 22, 2021 at 2:14 pm

      I haven’t heard any solid news about an AGA trial starting for HMI-115. My guess would be that they start sometime in Q1 2022.



  11. blave on November 22, 2021 at 4:49 pm

    I am sorry guys, I copied the wrong link. Here is the right one:

    http://www.njbpv.cn/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=show&catid=14&id=5606

    However, even though they talk about aga in the sentences before, I am not sure whether te clinical trial part isnt more about the Antibody in general and hence refers to the endo trial when mentioning the clinical trials.



  12. Follicle Thought on November 23, 2021 at 5:45 pm

    Tiny bit of action going on in the Rizn thread (use search). Most likely will get a another new photos soon too.



  13. Chris on November 23, 2021 at 11:36 pm

    Hello Admin- I just went to your master list of therapies with release dates; what happened to the topical product that was in phase III trials in Turkey and was due to be released next year? It was regenerative protein I believe. And is it my imagination or did you remove other things from the list as well?



    • Follicle Thought on November 24, 2021 at 1:42 pm

      That product was SM04554 by Samumed/Biosplice Therapeutics and it is now beginning to seem unlikely that it will ever be released. The company has shelved the program and claims it is seeking a “partner” who would like to market it instead. Check the Ultimate Guide article for companies “No Longer On The List.” No, I did not remove other companies.



  14. Ahmed bekeer on November 24, 2021 at 9:08 am

    Kintor Pharma Receives IND Clearance by NMPA for KX-826’s Pivotal Study to Treat Male Alopecia Patients



  15. Kapil on November 24, 2021 at 9:35 am

    That’s good but where is their phase 2 results
    When companies dragging their results not good sign like Samumed



  16. felix on November 24, 2021 at 10:19 am

    Here’s the release on today’s Kintor news. Good sign they will progress to Phase III (in China). I wish they would get started on Phase II in the USA. The longer it takes to start that, the longer it takes to get it on our noggin.
    https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/KINTOR-PHARMACEUTICAL-LIM-111325374/news/Kintor-Pharmaceutical-Pharma-Receives-IND-Clearance-by-NMPA-for-KX-826-s-Pivotal-Study-to-Treat-Ma-37126225/



  17. felix on November 24, 2021 at 10:24 am

    Kintor Phase III (China) dosing is set to start in early January. Add on about 24 weeks and trial should be ending by the end of the first half of 2022 – unless I’m reading that wrong. They are flying in China.



    • Follicle Thought on November 24, 2021 at 1:45 pm

      Yes, but by the time they enroll all 416 patients it could be Spring (even Summer?), so the phase 3 trial could take them until late Q4 to fully complete. It’s a wonderful timeline actually. Could then be approved in late 2023 if all goes well. This upcoming data from the phase 2 trial is crucial.



  18. chris2 on November 24, 2021 at 1:16 pm

    like this part the best
    KX-826 has demonstrated an outstanding efficacy and safety profile. with our luck this will be the holy grail and the west will have some embargo against china.



  19. Jade on November 28, 2021 at 12:31 pm

    Hi Follicle Thought,

    I saw some research that stem cell therapy might cause cancer.
    Does this mean that possibly the therapies that are being developed by Hairclone, Replicel and Epibiotech might cause cancer as well?

    Thanks in advance.



    • Follicle Thought on November 28, 2021 at 4:14 pm

      Jade, to summarize, the answer is basically no. Foremost, I believe that any kind of abnormal growth from stem cell therapy is a low-risk situation. Nonetheless, companies do various types of research, including preclinical screening, to help ensure that there are no signs of those types of problems from their therapies.



  20. Follicle Thought on December 2, 2021 at 1:40 pm

    Hi all,
    I’ve been contacted by a company who is developing an all natural “scalp cleanser” type of product which is intended to relieve itchy/oily scalp conditions. They are offering free product trials along with free shipping.

    About how many are interested in trying the product? I know I’ve heard several members discuss having difficulties around itchy scalps.



    • José on December 3, 2021 at 7:07 am

      I could be interested. can give some info more about the company. I live in Spain



  21. Jade on December 3, 2021 at 9:44 am

    Hi Follicle Thought, in your opinion how long would it take to get a cure for hair loss? I am talking about an actual cure restoring NW7 to a NW 1 or 2 without side effects.

    1)Do you think it would take more than 10 years?

    2) How long would it take in your opinion to get a treatment which stops further progression of hair loss without side effects?

    Thanks in advance.



    • Follicle Thought on December 3, 2021 at 9:47 am

      The possibilities of “could happen” are certainly within 10 yrs. No easy way to be very precise about it. I mean, even guys with exceptional donor areas can get FUEs today that restore major Norwoods like 5 or 6.



      • Woofy97 on December 4, 2021 at 10:12 pm

        Of course the only company that is actually speeding through clinical trials now is a topical treatment…. Why can’t kintor be stemson tx.. Stemson will come out in like 20 years I don’t want to wait 20 years or anymore years just for there stupid trials to tell us it works.They’re waisting our time! How long does it take to figure out the color of the hair? How to long does it take to get the hair curly or straight? Or how long does it take for cancer to dev after transplantation in pigs? I’ll tell you! it doesn’t take years to figure it out! Geoff if you’re reading this please hurry up!



        • Follicle Thought on December 5, 2021 at 10:07 am

          I always recommend counting your blessings



          • Woofy97 on December 5, 2021 at 3:46 pm

            Do you have any new articles or any updates that you are going to post soon that will cheer me up FT? ??



            • Follicle Thought on December 5, 2021 at 11:09 pm

              Nothing that’s going to post soon. I wish there were more news drops too, but hey, we have to work with what we’ve got. For now, why not discuss EPI-001? It’s low key one of the best attempts in the industry right now.

              – multiple years of research by a dedicated team who are solving the dp cell culturing issue
              – much, much closer to a clinical trial than Stemson Tx
              – potential to be an improvement over current options or create a new “ceiling” of regrowth when combined with current options (this is not meant to hype, it’s simply a potential)

              Talking about the things you like, things that are working out is a way of helping to pass the time. It’s not everything, but it beats being bummed out.



  22. Baumer on December 5, 2021 at 4:10 pm

    Hi FT any reason the Kintor article was removed from homepage?



    • Follicle Thought on December 5, 2021 at 10:50 pm

      Baumer, it was an older article that was temporarily stickied to the top of the page. It still exists.



  23. Baumer on December 5, 2021 at 4:10 pm

    Articles page*



  24. ah on December 5, 2021 at 4:10 pm

    Cosmo Pharmaceuticals becomes the majority owner of Casiopeia
    that may be good news



  25. Shayak on December 6, 2021 at 12:35 am

    Let’s have a healthy discussion about Epibiotech and Amplifica. I find Amplifica really interesting (don’t know why) and have huge potential. Dr Maksim plikus is a great researcher and Dr wrassman seema to have some of the most honest opinion on reddit. Exicure should /might give an update next year, really interested about their target gene/genes, the PA1 inhibitors of eiron therapeutic is interesting and has potential.
    And @admin is the technology of Hairclone and epibiotech same?



    • Follicle Thought on December 6, 2021 at 11:26 am

      Good roundup of info Shayak, I agree there are things to be looking out for, even if we all wished they’d come much faster 😉

      The exact technology of Hairclone and Epibiotech is not the same. They both culture dp cells, but how they do it and what type of culture liquid they use are different. Hairclone has not really discussed much of their methods, while Epibiotech has discussed culturing cells under hypoxic conditions and creating their own proprietary culture media specialized for dp cells.



      • Shayak on December 7, 2021 at 9:50 am

        Thank @admin, i just HOPE 2022 to be a pivotal year for hair loss cure/ effective long term side effect free treatment.



  26. Jade on December 6, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    Hi Foliclle Thought,

    I would also like to know what is the difference between Hairclone and EPI-001.

    It seems like you think EPI-001 has more potential than Hairclone, does EPI-001 use more advanced technology?



  27. Mjones on December 6, 2021 at 7:29 pm

    Hey Woofy….I recommend taking a break from these sites. Just pick up a hobby, shop for the holidays, chill with family and friends…anything is better than checking this site and other hairloss sites for a cure. I’ve been waiting the past 21 years and tbh I dont care anymore. I gave up. I just use the big 3 and considering fue for hair line at some point. Kintor may succeed but it prob wont do much more than finasteride tbh. Anywho, take a break like how I have the past couple months. It really feels good not thinking about empty promises and two bit biotech companies that will 99% fail…..lol



    • Woofy97 on December 7, 2021 at 1:30 am

      Hi mjones I know and I have tried a couple of long breaks from these sites but I just have good days and bad days with depression over this and than I can’t resist to come on here and see “maybe FT will give us a miracle update today”. I can’t stop I really want a cure so badly it’s incredibly frustrating and mentally tiring. I know this isn’t a place to vent and I know alot of my post maybe repetitive and I don’t mean it I can’t help it. I’m scared to death to go bald and I just would like to sign up for stemsons trial when they actually do it or if a doctor could use veterporfin that would be awesome.



      • Follicle Thought on December 7, 2021 at 2:02 pm

        Woofy, it’s understandable. Taking a break can be healthy sometimes and it’s good that you try. I would love to take a rest from this as well. Rest assured that even the “vets” who appear to have things figured out will visit this page in the coming days and weeks too, it’s inevitable 😉 We all want newer and better treatments to grow hair. As far as the venting goes, no worries, I realize you were in a convo with another reader. I’m not all that strict about things I only try to keep things reasonable.



  28. Shayak on December 7, 2021 at 5:06 am

    Hey woofy97, hairloss really sucks and its depressing but sometimes distraction helps. Do you think any drug therapy has potential to be cure or you think Stemson (or any clonning treatment) will be the only cure. And what constitutes a cure for you? NW7 to NW1 or maintaining a NW 1 throughout life with little intervention?



  29. Kapil on December 7, 2021 at 9:00 am

    Link/Internetadresse: https://www.manebiotech.com/
    Branche: Konsumgüter, Medizintechnik
    Gründungsdatum: 14.06.2019
    Kapitalbedarf (in Euro): 1.400.000
    Datum des Förderbescheids: 25.08.2021
    Geschäftskonzept: Mane Biotech behebt Haarausfall mit regenerativer Medizin. Wir haben ein tragbares Gerät für die Heimpflege entwickelt, das den Haarwuchs reaktiviert und den Haarausfall bei Menschen mit Haarausfall (androgenetische Alopezie) vollständig stoppt. Das Gerät ist 12-mal besser (6-mal wirksamer und 2-mal schneller) beim Nachwachsen von Haaren im Vergleich zu dem Standardmedikament gegen Haarausfall, Finasterid. Wir wollen den 18 Milliarden Euro schweren Markt für Haarausfall mit der ersten Lösung aufmischen, die das Jahrtausende alte Problem des Haarausfalls tatsächlich löst



    • Kapil on December 7, 2021 at 9:03 am

      Woofy97 if it’s true (my above post) will give you peace of mind ,have a nice day



  30. Kapil on December 7, 2021 at 9:05 am

    © Mane Biotech

    Link/Internet address: https://www.manebiotech.com/

    Industry: Consumer goods, medical technology

    Date of establishment: 06/14/2019

    Capital requirements (in euros): 1,400,000

    Date of funding notice: 08/25/2021

    Business concept: Mane Biotech fixes hair loss with regenerative medicine. We have developed a portable home care device that reactivates hair growth and completely stops hair loss in people with hair loss (androgenetic alopecia). The device is 12 times better (6 times more effective and 2 times faster) when growing hair compared to the standard hair loss medication, finasteride. We want to shake up the 18 billion euro hair loss market with the first solution that actually solves the millennia-old problem of hair loss



  31. Shayak on December 7, 2021 at 9:44 am

    Hi kapil, i heard about Mane biotech in the past, but this news seems to be recent. Is their claim clinically proven?
    And thanks for the update.



  32. Kapil on December 7, 2021 at 9:52 am

    Shayak I have no idea about trial I come across this German news ,hopefully turn out good and was excited could not hold to post some good news



    • Follicle Thought on December 7, 2021 at 2:03 pm

      Do you have a link to that Kapil? It’s a strong claim they are making. If it’s even close to being true it’s good news.



  33. Woofy97 on December 7, 2021 at 6:46 pm

    Hi Shayak I don’t think drugs constitute a cure in my eyes but I do hope there are good treatments to take a NW7 back to a Nw1. I do really like Dr Rassman treatment because the treatment is actually coming from a human so we will see what comes of that. I also like moongene medi and veterporfin and you know the hair cloning stuff that’s about it.But yeah stemson would be a cure for me because I don’t have dupa.



    • Follicle Thought on December 8, 2021 at 10:03 am

      If/when Stemson comes out it should be a cure for dupa as well since they will be working on the dht resistant aspect.



  34. Jade on December 8, 2021 at 4:31 pm

    Hi Follicle Thought,

    Have you heard about a treament called TrichoStem?

    I found this doctor on Youtube that claims that he developed this system TrichoStem which prevents hair loss without side effects but it’s an ongoing treatment including PRP.

    It seems he only has a few clinics around New York and no reviews on Google or on hairloss forums so I am kind of skeptical.

    Have you heard anyone getting this treatment and does it work?



  35. Mjones on December 8, 2021 at 7:00 pm

    Jade that trichostem is pure bs. Prp marketed different. I wont name drop the doctor but he had tons of reviews online a few years ago when I researched it. Bad reviews I must say. For those reviews to be gone must mean he took them down.



    • Jade on December 8, 2021 at 7:25 pm

      Thanks for the heads up Mjones, the treatment indeed sounds fishy.

      Follicle Thought, I see you don’t do interviews with HT surgeons, but there was a big hype on the forums for Dr. Zarev from Bulgaria.

      He is known for making these gigasessions restoring NW7 and NW6 to NW2.

      However I noticed that he also has 0 reviews on his Google page but people on the forums claim that he is overbooked.

      His results on Youtube seem amazing, the only thing that bothers me is he has 0 reviews, do you have some good feedback from people who got surgery with him? (or if anyone else knows if he is good please let me know)



      • Follicle Thought on December 8, 2021 at 8:06 pm

        At this point I’m not interested in trying to maintain info on the entire hair restoration industry, mostly just the up and coming improvements. That said, I recommend learning and discussing hair transplant surgeons on message boards which are dedicated to hair transplant surgery specifically. You can ask questions and hear from experienced patients. Anyone here who has knowledge could share with you too; personally I have no info on Dr Zarev. There are multiple surgeons worldwide who deal with body hair etc to regain high norwoods. Make your rounds on the hair transplant forums.



      • Woofy97 on December 9, 2021 at 1:31 am

        Hi Jade so all of the patients on Dr zarev’s website all have a high donor density and coarser hair (that’s not common in most men) and Dr Zarev operates outside the donor zone via FUE to get those results.



      • Follicle Thought on December 9, 2021 at 11:10 am

        One clinic that I could mention to further research is Eugenix in India. They are one of the few clinics outside North America with a sterling reputation and are recommended by the prominent hair transplant message boards. They specialize in using beard hair to augment hair transplant sessions. Their youtube has many examples of good results on NW6s.



  36. Jay on December 10, 2021 at 7:01 am

    Follicle Thought,

    Do you think any of the cell therapies like RCH-01, Hair Clone or Epibiotech could be used to maintain hair without the use of finasteride?



    • Follicle Thought on December 10, 2021 at 8:41 am

      It’s certainly a possibility in my opinion Jay. I have higher hopes for EPI-001, but let’s see how it does.



  37. felix on December 10, 2021 at 9:06 am


    • Follicle Thought on December 10, 2021 at 7:49 pm

      Anything noteworthy in the interview felix? I see it’s around a half hour.



  38. felix on December 10, 2021 at 9:22 pm

    Doesn’t sound too good to me. They are focusing on hairloss & skin first, but they are still focusing on seed funding for the company as well. They both seem like very solid guys, but I’m not holding my breath that they’ll have anything out soon.



    • Follicle Thought on December 11, 2021 at 12:52 am

      Just added Yuva to the Master List article. I’ve seen an investor deck from them. They have a compound which I think is in a human trial for hair now, it’s hard to tell by their wording. In any event, it’s definitely in a trial for wrinkles at the moment. Should have an update around Feb.



    • Follicle Thought on December 12, 2021 at 11:08 am

      It’s actually a botanical compound classified as a cosmetic, so it could come out soon. It all depends on if it works significantly at all.



  39. felix on December 11, 2021 at 10:05 am

    Yuva info From a November article: “…because the company’s lead compound is a natural compound that is generally recognised as safe (GRAS) already, it can go market as a cosmeceutical, without going through the FDA approval process, giving Yuva a swifter route to market with its hair and skin products.”‘
    “We’re already doing hair and skin human trials – both in vivo and ex vivo with over forty participants – and we expect the product to be a topical cream…”



    • Follicle Thought on December 11, 2021 at 10:15 am

      Yes, it’s clear to me that the skin product is in a human trial in vivo (that’s the one with the 40 participants). However, it’s not perfectly clear to me if they have gone beyond testing human hair follicles in a dish, but I believe there is a good chance they are at a human trial in vivo now. I will try to follow up soon.



      • Jade on December 11, 2021 at 1:45 pm

        That’s good news Follicle Thought,

        Do we know what results we can expect with this Yuva product?

        Would it be able to hold hairloss without side effects, essentially a replacement of finasteride?

        Or is it something like Rizn?



        • Kapil on December 11, 2021 at 3:19 pm

          @FT is there any contact with Mane Biotech?
          Hope we can hear something from them if their claims are true they can go top of the list
          Thanks FT



          • Follicle Thought on December 11, 2021 at 9:59 pm

            I have contact with Mane, but they are busy until January they said. Let’s see.



        • Follicle Thought on December 11, 2021 at 10:37 pm

          Don’t know yet, Jade.



  40. Nobody on December 12, 2021 at 4:27 am

    Hello admin!
    What about the hair growth cap from rise technology? Or is this technology unsuccessful?

    https://folliclethought.com/tag/uw-madison-hair-growth-cap/



    • Follicle Thought on December 12, 2021 at 9:44 am

      Nobody, it’s an interesting cap but it has not been tested on humans yet. Since they don’t have a lot of funding (apparently), it takes them a long time to make development progress. That’s about all there is to say right now. They’re listed on the Master List article.



      • Kapil on December 12, 2021 at 11:36 am

        Thanks FT for your reply I have been following this company very closely, they don’t entertain public very much but FT can get exclusive interview when they are ready..They are the first company compared their product with fin
        Thanks



        • Follicle Thought on December 12, 2021 at 1:07 pm

          I’m not aware of Rise Tech comparing their product with finasteride, perhaps you meant Mane Biotech who compared their product to fin?



        • Jade on December 12, 2021 at 1:32 pm

          Kapil, I didn’t know Rise compared their product to finasteride, would you be able to share a link to this study, that’s very interesting.

          Also do you think Rise cap can be used as a monotherapy in order to prevent further hair loss or it works as stimulation therapy like laser caps?



          • Kapil on December 12, 2021 at 1:43 pm

            Sorry all I was following my earlier question to FT about Mane Biotech



  41. Jade on December 12, 2021 at 7:11 pm

    Hi Follicle Thought,

    Do you plan on writing an article about Mane Biotech?

    I heard from a member in the comment section here that they make quite the claims for their product (like saying it works better than finasteride).

    Do they have any proof or ongoing clinical trials?



    • Follicle Thought on December 13, 2021 at 1:34 pm

      Mane has requested to be left out of articles until further notice.



      • Kapil on December 13, 2021 at 3:15 pm

        @FT your previous comment was more favourable
        “ they are busy until January they said. Let’s see”



        • Follicle Thought on December 13, 2021 at 6:48 pm

          ? one comment is about an article, one comment is about answering a question. seems like answering a question will come first.



  42. Woofy97 on December 13, 2021 at 12:47 am

    FT or anyone, what was the name of the company working on the “holy grail” sonic hedgehog pathway but it caused tumors? Bayer pharma? Thanks



  43. Gurvinder on December 13, 2021 at 7:38 am

    Hi FT,
    Did Stemson add any thing in their talk other than the one it put through you



    • Follicle Thought on December 13, 2021 at 1:39 pm

      I don’t believe so, but I was not able to attend the summit.



    • nobody on December 15, 2021 at 2:04 pm

      ??



      • Kapil on December 16, 2021 at 10:47 am

        Kintor phase2 result still waiting!!!
        Hope they are not doing a Samumed



  44. Jade on December 16, 2021 at 1:20 pm

    Hi Follicle Thought,

    Do you have an article on exosomes?

    If no do you consider writing about it?

    I did some research on the forums and seems that some people have good results and some people don’t have any results at all.

    Do you think this is just another PRP 2.0?



    • Follicle Thought on December 16, 2021 at 3:13 pm

      Jade, no articles yet. For the exosomes that people have been using over the past few years that are not “specialized” for hair growth (and I don’t even know if it is possible to specialize them) I do believe they are, in fact, very similar to PRP.



  45. Baumer on December 18, 2021 at 5:09 am

    I am getting antsy awaiting detailed Kintor phase 2 results as well, however, they have already announced that primary endpoint was met together with initiation of phase 3 in China. These are positive tidings.

    I am interested to see if Clascoterone in higher strengths (7.5%) may become available through a safe manufacturer following approval and launch of Winlevi (clascoterone 1%) in 2022.



  46. John Doe on December 20, 2021 at 7:44 pm

    Hi Admin, Epibiotech shows few different drugs in the pipeline. Also Topical creams. What are the schedules for these? Is there a faster route or even a Cosmeceutical? I guess we are all not happy to wait again 5 years for the “lead” program.



    • Follicle Thought on December 21, 2021 at 10:34 am

      Those schedules are behind the DP cell therapy as far as I know.



  47. John Martin on December 21, 2021 at 2:34 pm

    Replicel terminates license agreement with Shisedo today



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