HairCell Launches Clinical Trial
A clinical trial has begun for HairCell, a startup in the Leonhardt Ventures portfolio which seeks to rejuvenate hair using bioelectric stimulation and biologics.
Leonhardt Ventures is a regenerative medtech company which is developing around 30 startup companies for various types of organ regeneration and recovery. The core technology of all of these companies is based on administering bioelectric signaling to the body, along with the delivery of different biologic cocktails (stem cells, PRP, amniotic fluid, etc).
What exactly is bioelectric signaling, you might ask? Essentially, it works like this: your body naturally uses its own bioelectric signals to repair and maintain its tissue structure. When you scrape your knee your body sends a real-time signal to your knee to begin releasing specific proteins to repair and rebuild the skin there. Howard Leonhardt, founder of Leonhardt Ventures, and his team have identified and recreated these signals through technology and can apply them “on demand” to various organs or tissues to recreate the body’s natural regenerative processes.
On December 5, 2018, Leonhardt Ventures published new “2018 Elevator Pitches” on its website for all of the companies within its development portfolio. The elevator pitch for HairCell reads as follows: “Launched clinical study in South Africa and about to launch in other locations. Targeting 30% hair density growth.” That’s a sizable target. Upon further review of the HairCell website, a new video demonstrating the HairCell technology being used on a patient has been posted to the front page. See video below.
The doctor in the video is FUE hair surgeon Dr. Catherine Davies of the Rejuv-nation hair clinic in South Africa. She is currently leading the clinical trial of HairCell. Howard Leonhardt has told Follicle Thought that initial clinical results of HairCell will be shared within the next several months. I’m certainly looking forward to that, the patient in the video looked like an ideal candidate to recover lost density. I also find it exciting that other HairCell trial locations will be launching soon. Stay tuned for updates on the initial results of HairCell.
Posted in Hair Growth Treatment, HairCell
Thanks for sharing! there’s more and more promising solutions on the horizon
“I also find it exciting that other HairCell trial locations will be launching soon.” Joseph, do you mean for clinical trial locations or actual treatments offered or a combo of these?
Hi Yoda, thanks for the question. I meant clinical trial locations only.
When do you see this be available for commercial use? Do they mean 30% new growth density? If they can pull that off it will excellent!
It all depends on how it fairs in the clinical trials. I believe they mean increase 30% of hair density in an area that was thinning, however it’s prudent to mention that only a clinical trial will prove results from the treatment.
Is 30% on the high end of their expectations, or is that the minimum? The average? The word “targeting” is rather vague. Is there any indication what the cost would look like?
I would actually recommend not getting too caught up in their target % and wait for the clinical trial results themselves.
This video does not show a cloning treatment. How effective is PRF and ACell?
Hello there!Thank you very much for your hard
work.i wanted to ask about the rch 01 product.are the trials cancelled?thank you very much in advance!
Thank you! I don’t have an update about rch-01 trials at this time, but I have heard nothing about them being cancelled.
Regulation of melanocyte stem cells in the pigmentation of skin and its appendages: Biological patterning and therapeutic potentials
Skin evolves essential appendages and indispensable types of cells that synergistically insulate the body from environmental insults. Residing in the specific regions in the skin such as epidermis, dermis and hair follicle, melanocytes perform an array of vital functions including defending the ultraviolet radiation and diversifying animal appearance. As one of the adult stem cells, melanocyte stem cells in the hair follicle bulge niche can proliferate, differentiate, and keep quiescence to control and coordinate tissue homeostasis, repair, and regeneration. In synchrony with hair follicle stem cells, melanocyte stem cells in the hair follicles undergo cyclic activation, degeneration, and resting phases, to pigment the hairs and to preserve the stem cells. Disorder of melanocytes results in severe skin problems such as canities, vitiligo, and even melanoma. Here, we compare and summarize recent discoveries about melanocyte in the skin, particularly in the hair follicle. A better understanding of the physiological and pathological regulation of melanocyte and melanocyte stem cell behaviors will help to guide the clinical applications in regenerative medicine.
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Wonderful to hear things are progressing with these companies. Any progress is a step forward. Thanks for the info Joe!
I appreciate all of the updates about clinical trials and ongoing research, but when will there be a product that works we can actually use?
These are typically the closest things we have to products that work that we can use. Have you read the Ultimate Guide to Hair Regeneration? It’s recommended to observe the information and come to your own understanding of how things are coming along.
This question has long been waiting
Hey Follicle Thought.
I just got the News letter in my email from Replicel and they mentioned something about (and don’t quote me on this)
wrapping up their work on RCH-01 and having a product on the market in china this upcoming year!
Take it with a shaker of salt and don’t get your hopes up but a little good news is always nice.
And sorry for posting thos off topic But I figured I’d share it on the most recent post as that would likely be the one with the most eyes on it.
But here is what the Newsletter says
” Happy Holidays & Best Wishes in the New Year!
With the holidays upon us and 2018 drawing to a close, it’s a great time to look back at this unforgettable year.
Our partnership announcement with YOFOTO solidifies our presence in Greater China and strengthens our brand, globally. RepliCel has reached new heights with our partnerships, both which present near-term commercial opportunity.
With sufficiently positive data from the RCH-01 clinical study currently wrapping up in Japan, Shiseido may be in the position to launch the product in Japan for the treatment of patients with androgenic alopecia. In Greater China, YOFOTO is committed to launching the RCI-02 dermal injector in Hong Kong once it is CE-marked. Either or both of these potential commercial launches will transition RepliCel from being a pre-revenue development company to generating revenue as a commercial entity.
I’m immensely proud of the work we are doing to make RepliCel a force for good in the world through the commercialization of products designed to make a difference on issues that touch millions of lives from androgenetic alopecia to tendon degeneration to aging or sun damaged skin.
In addition to adding an exciting new partnership, we have been strategically rebuilding our team. This fall we announced two new management appointments, Simon Ma as Chief Financial Officer and Dr. Goessens-Rueck as Head of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs. The appointment of Dr. Goessens-Rueck also fulfils our commitment to promote female leadership in biotech, something we hope to see more of from biotech companies around-the-globe.
Our recent Annual General Meeting also resulted in further additions to the RepliCel team by way of newly elected members to our Board of Directors. We are pleased to welcome the addition of Andrew Schutte and Peter Lowry, both of whom have significant shareholdings in the company, as well as Larissa Huang who was nominated by YOFOTO and elected as part of this year’s slate of Directors. We looked forward to working together to create a strong RepliCel Life Sciences in 2019 as we mature our pipeline and strategically move certain assets toward commercial launch in select markets.
In 2019, we will be focusing our efforts on (1) finalizing the dermal injector development and testing in preparation for submitting an application for a CE mark to enable its commercial launch, (2) working with YOFOTO to prepare them for clinical trial launch in China as quickly as possible, (3) bringing clarity to the commercial status of our partnership with Shiseido and plans for RCH-01 in Japan, and finally, (4) preparing for our own next-stage clinical trials.
With the YOFOTO partnership and investment now in place, we have our work cut out for us at RepliCel, but the team is ready and excited to execute on the tasks and priorities laid out before us.
Enjoy this time of year with your friends and loved ones. I could not be more excited about what’s in store for next year, and for the opportunity to work with all of you to make it happen.
Lee.”
What the email mentions is “With sufficiently positive data from the RCH-01 clinical study currently wrapping up in Japan, Shiseido may be in the position to launch the product in Japan for the treatment of patients with androgenic alopecia.”. So basically we now nothing new, except that the they did not cancel the trial.
Godspeed Shiseido, godspeed.
and sooooo will it happen and when????
do you have more information on this? I badly need this rch01