Recruitment Information For HST 001 Hair Growth Trial In 2020

Update (6/22/20)

The Manager of Recruitment at the California Dermatology & Clinical Research Institute reached out to me over the weekend to let me know that their site is still seeking participants for the HST-001 trial. Recruitment for the trial is scheduled to close in about 3 weeks so if you live in the San Diego area and would like to be considered to participate, now would be a good time to call their office at (760) 203-3836. I was also sent this video featuring the principal investigator of the study, Dr. Stacy Smith, who talks about the trial.

Original Article

I have received information from the clinical trial site which will be conducting the latest Histogen HST 001 (also known as HSC) trial for the treatment of male pattern hair loss.


Males (ages 25 – 55) who are located in the San Diego, CA area and would like to be considered for participation in the upcoming HST 001 trial may contact Emily Baker of the California Dermatology and Clinical Research Institute through her direct phone line (760) 203-3836.

I am told that screening visits for the HST 001 trial are set to begin next week, the week of May 25, 2020.

About The CDCR Institute

The California Dermatology and Clinical Research Institute is located in Encinitas, CA (northern San Diego County) and led by Dr. Stacy Smith who has been practicing dermatology in the San Diego area for over 20 years. You can read his extended bio here.

For those interested, a page has been created on the CDCR Institute’s website which details all of the coronavirus / Covid-19 precautions their office has taken in order to practice safe medicine during the current situation.


This is all great news to hear and it looks like Histogen will indeed be starting their next trial for HST 001/HSC in June 2020.

53 Comments

  1. Follicle Thought on May 20, 2020 at 5:41 pm

    Big thanks to the CDCR Institute for sharing this information with Follicle Thought.

    For those genuinely interested in participating in this trial, once again please use the phone number listed for more screening information.

    I would say this trial is one of the most unexpected positive developments of 2020 so far.



  2. Nils on May 20, 2020 at 6:20 pm

    The only requirement is to be between 25-55 ?
    No matter which norwood situation?



    • Follicle Thought on May 20, 2020 at 6:36 pm

      Nils, there are many more inclusion criteria but they were not given at this time, the age range is the only criteria which Emily Baker shared with me. Once people get in touch with her she will screen for more specifics.



  3. Yoda on May 20, 2020 at 6:24 pm

    Great Job Joseph! Was wondering about this as I live in the San Diego area. However, as we suspected, Yoda is ancient and outside of the criteria by two years…let alone probably once they found out my current regime would probably omit me as a candidate. I’m always afraid I’d get the placebo, I don’t mind observing from the sidelines. Nevertheless, anyway you cut it this is good news!



    • Follicle Thought on May 20, 2020 at 6:41 pm

      Thanks Yoda, I knew you’d be commenting on this one as you are a local and were interested in the trial. I’m happy to observe this trial as well, hoping for some noteworthy results!



  4. Mateo on May 20, 2020 at 10:18 pm

    Please explain what histogen is trying to do exactly. Thanks!



    • Follicle Thought on May 21, 2020 at 9:59 am

      Mateo, Histogen injects growth factors in the scalp to regrow hair. If you look up “Histogen” in the search bar of this site you can read other articles on the company which contain before and after photos.



  5. Hartmut on May 21, 2020 at 4:57 am

    TissUse + Tsuji Update !!



    • Follicle Thought on May 21, 2020 at 9:28 am

      Hartmut, there is not one currently.



  6. MCS on May 21, 2020 at 10:12 am

    Who here is going to apply to be in this trial? please share



  7. MRKA on May 21, 2020 at 12:20 pm

    I could imagine that it is quite difficult to find the right candidates.
    People concerned about hair loss may be keen to participate but most likely may not disclose that they are already using a treatment such as Propecia.
    I am not sure if a blood test can reveal that a candidate is using it.

    Its very risky to stop a current relatively succesful treatment hoping that the new one has superior efficacy.
    Obviously there is also the risk of getting the placebo.
    Better to be an observer



    • Follicle Thought on May 21, 2020 at 1:05 pm

      I actually don’t think it would be all that difficult, I think there is a large population of guys who do not pursue treatment for their hair loss (or don’t want to use fin) and would be willing to participate in a new product trial. Sometimes radio advertisement for these types of trials is very effective.



      • Yoda on May 21, 2020 at 5:09 pm

        Old Yoda might give that chica a call at some point and let her know if they’re short on subjects and want to give a 57 year old on fin/min for a whirl, I’d be game. Also depends on what sort of time/follow up commitment they are looking for, however I imagine it’s a fools errand on my part.



  8. Jonathan Weaver on May 21, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    Lucky men from San Diego. There are no trials of any kind in france…pfff



  9. Yoda on May 21, 2020 at 5:12 pm

    I’m amazed, this post has been up for 24 hours and no one has bitched how long Histogen has been at this without coming to market yet nor anything about the “fake photos”. Geeez, some of you guys are falling off your game! 😉



    • Follicle Thought on May 21, 2020 at 7:19 pm

      Lol Yoda. I have to say I am pleased that those comments have been absent, but a little surprised that people are not more responsive to the news. I guess Histogen may need to earn some trust back which could happen once this trial announces results later this year.



  10. Bryan on May 21, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    This is just another one of those treatments “We successfully grown up 3 more hairs“

    In 10 years they can’t even take a proper photos.



  11. Tracto on May 22, 2020 at 12:49 am

    Are these trials usually just applied to a small sample of the scalp or to the whole thing? I’d love to participate (based in Long Beach) but wouldn’t want to give up my regime for just a patch test!



    • Vienna on May 22, 2020 at 10:06 am

      I would call and ask them directly



  12. niceteeth on May 22, 2020 at 5:30 am

    Too bad the trial isn’t open to ladies. I’m local, don’t use anything and would be happy to participate.



  13. Bryan on May 22, 2020 at 5:51 am

    @FollicleThought They also uploaded very suspicious photos. That is saying enough.



  14. Rudransh on May 22, 2020 at 6:08 am

    I’m imagining for a day when actually Master Yoda and Bryan is in line for getting HST001 😉



    • Follicle Thought on May 22, 2020 at 10:13 am

      LOL Rudransh



    • Yoda on May 22, 2020 at 5:52 pm

      Now that’s what I’m talking about Ruddy…good thought! I lost faith in Histogen but never piled on as I believe they are a legitimate player. However this news, while it’s far from a slam dunk, can only be construed as good news. Imagine a world where treatments are abandoned only because things didn’t go as planned and timelines slipped.



      • Rudransh on May 23, 2020 at 4:24 am

        you are of my father age and i can say your glass-half-full type man. Back in 2018 you and mjones actually make me aware of current treatment and how newbie neglect those treatment being over-optimistic of future treatment. I visit derm then and he prescribed me fin on alternative days. Tho i take daily and it perfectly maintained my hairline these 2 years 🙂 Thank You. Congratulations on your success too



        • Yoda on May 25, 2020 at 5:23 pm

          Rudransh, that’s great to hear my friend! I’m sure you’ve had little to no appreciable side effects as well. You might consider minox to boost the regrowth, a good compliment to fin. Good luck, and as my hair loss guru Dr. Richard Lee used to say…”Keep it growing”! 🙂



  15. Stephan on May 22, 2020 at 9:21 am

    Although i agree its childish, but i understand the feelings of people like Bryan(everyone here does))).
    Corona or not, with AA you can’t be happy a lot)))
    Lets hope hairclone can end our suffering by next summer, at least stop HL… Applying now around 3 meds, cause NW3a makes me desprate…



    • KD on May 22, 2020 at 12:39 pm

      Not everyone feels that way actually. Plus, histogen so far has more data proof than hairclone, all in all I bet they will have a similar strength. Maybe they will work great together.



    • Yoda on May 22, 2020 at 5:57 pm

      Yoda started loosing his hair at 17, I’m now 57. While it’s not perfect I’m grateful for fin/min and the variations of those that have helped me over the years. If not, my goose would’ve been cooked hairwise years ago. Also faith, initiative and realistic hope. I understand feeling desperate and despair, particularly at a young age, however pissing on a parade won’t make it any better, probably worse.



  16. Kay on May 22, 2020 at 10:21 am

    How long this phase 1b/2a trial is going to be ?



    • Follicle Thought on May 22, 2020 at 10:40 am

      Either 4 or 6 months.



  17. D1 on May 22, 2020 at 11:24 am

    @Follicle thought what is the other news that is coming out?



    • Follicle Thought on May 22, 2020 at 11:27 am

      There could be some updates next week, not definite, stay tuned. Thanks for the support.



  18. Nils on May 22, 2020 at 12:39 pm

    three months studies are not very meaningful.
    even with a hair transplant, it takes four weeks for the first hair to grow.
    That’s why I’m very excited about Samumed’s Phase 3 study.
    I think that will surprise many pp.



    • Follicle Thought on May 22, 2020 at 12:45 pm

      Nils, where does the comment about three month studies come in here? I don’t follow.



      • Nils on May 22, 2020 at 1:04 pm

        Meant that in General.
        was not just related to histogen now



        • Follicle Thought on May 22, 2020 at 1:06 pm

          Oh ok, but I’m fairly sure it’s not related to Histogen now.



    • Stef on May 23, 2020 at 12:15 am

      What’s this Samumed study you speak of?



      • Follicle Thought on May 23, 2020 at 4:58 pm

        He’s referring to the Samumed phase 3 clinical trial in Turkey https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03742518 The thing is, the drug showed about 9% density increase after 6 months. Hopefully the 11 month trial shows better results.



  19. D1 on May 23, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    @FollicleThought whats happened to Breezula?



    • Follicle Thought on May 24, 2020 at 11:44 am

      The last word from them was they were preparing for a phase 3 trial in the US. Most likely, the coronavirus issue prevented that from starting and likely the company is now deciding on when to initiate the trial in 2020.



  20. peter on May 24, 2020 at 3:03 am

    I predict Histogen will maybe give marginal to maybe moderate results at best and NOT bring back a full head of hair.



    • MRKA on May 24, 2020 at 3:43 am

      Admin, sure there are certainly many people that are keen to be in this trial who are not on any treatments. But people already on treatments are also keen to be in the trial hoping its the path to a happier life. Most of them know that there are two risks abandoning the current treatment.
      1). HST001 is not as good as hoped for
      2) You get the placebo

      Result: they may lose hair because they gave up existing treatments.

      The solution for some is to not disclose existing treatments and be accepted into the trial.

      If this happens the trial results are not valid especially if you have a high percentage of cheaters.
      And I believe, there are many who would cheat

      And that was my question in my previous post. How can the researchers ensure that the participants stick to the rules?

      If they cant you more or less have to question any results that are obtained in hair loss research regardless what kind of treatment



      • Follicle Thought on May 24, 2020 at 11:40 am

        This is a definite hypothetical which could be applied to every hair trial which has ever been conducted (except for the first minoxidil trial).

        I suppose a simple blood test would solve the issue, but I don’t know whether trials will include this? For the most part, I expect when people sign their name of the dotted line that the high majority are telling the truth, I don’t think a few outliers can change the reputation of a potential therapy.

        Another point is in the investigator lead trial by Dr. Ziering, multiple women had good results including a black woman who had some light de novo growth / regowth at her hairline – a difficult task to accomplish through injection. And we know that women do not really have substantial options that they could be using alongside a trial (not that I think any of them were hiding treatments to begin with).



    • Follicle Thought on May 24, 2020 at 11:31 am

      It’s widely known that HST001/HSC will not bring back a full head of hair (for the last 10 years or so), it’s still one of the most useful and exciting potential products in the whole industry pipeline.



  21. John on May 25, 2020 at 4:57 pm

    Admin do you know what this is? I never heard of it before.

    Device: Cold-atmospeheric pressure plasma activated aqueous-alcohol solution Treatment.
    Dr. Peter C. Friedman, The Skin Center Dermatology Group

    https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04379752?recrs=abdf&cond=Androgenetic+Alopecia&draw=3&rank=10



  22. Matteo on May 25, 2020 at 6:31 pm

    Is there any update from Follica? They said time ago to start the final trial within the first Half of 2020…..



  23. AK on June 21, 2020 at 10:01 am

    For several years, Japanese clinics have been treating with HSC.
    Has anyone been treated?



    • Follicle Thought on June 21, 2020 at 10:39 am

      I didn’t think there has been any clinic with HSC for a while now. At one point there was a brief availability.



  24. AK on June 21, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    Is HSC currently the most promising treatment?



Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.