RiverTown Featured In Latest Gray Hair Cure Research
RT160 Gray Hair Reversal Published Study (7/13/20)
Last week, a new peer-reviewed article on RiverTown Therapeutics’ RT1640 was published in the Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research journal. The study is titled “Topical RT1640 treatment effectively reverses gray hair and stem cell loss in a mouse model of radiation‐induced canities” and was led by Dr. Melissa Harris of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. This is a great moment for RiverTown Therapeutics and will hopefully attract more attention for the company. Although the research was done on mice, the mechanism of action reported in this study does support the anecdotal human evidence of RT1640 reversing gray which has been previously reported on Follicle Thought. I hope that RiverTown can get this compound into a clinical trial by the year’s end.
Original Article
RiverTown Therapeutic’s candidate drug RT1640 was recently discussed in the news by a leading “gray hair cure” researcher.
Dr. Melissa Harris of the University of Alabama at Birmingham studies aging, and specifically, the process of hair graying. In May 2018, her lab’s work was featured in the mainstream media for identifying a link between the immune system and melanocyte stem cells (the stem cells which give hair its pigment). Following this publicity, Dr. Harris was contacted by Dr. David Weinstein of RiverTown Therapeutics to discuss the potential of doing a research collaboration involving his patented drug RT1640. Through his own use of the drug, Dr. Weinstein had noticed that RT1640 was capable of restoring hair pigment and thought that a research project would be a good way to demonstrate this scientifically. In early 2019, Follicle Thought was able to show a preview of some of the work done by Dr. Harris using RT1640 to restore pigment on mice.
Now, in January 2020, the collaboration research between Harris’ lab and RiverTown is being publicized in the news. In an article published last week, Dr. Harris stated:
- “And we can take these same mice, pluck the hair and when new hairs grow out they retain the higher level of pigmentation, suggesting this is permanent….This compound is reprogramming the stem cells, taking them to a younger state, allowing them to start up again.”
- “We have an opportunity with this company to find out what are the potential ways we can fix a broken system,”
On January 27, 2020 Dr. Harris appeared on WBRC Fox News in Alabama to discuss her latest research on gray hair. You can view the video here. At around the 3:00 minute mark she discusses the collaboration with RiverTown, though she doesn’t mention the company by name. You can be assured that she is indeed referring to RiverTown Therapeutics. I’ll add that I believe RT1640 is thought to be a potential treatment for gray hair, but not a complete “cure.”
Gray Hair Cure Research 2020
As a brief aside, there was also other gray/grey hair cure research discussed in the media last week. Researchers from the Universities of Harvard and Sao Paulo published a study that validated the theory that stress can lead to gray hair. It turns out that the sympathetic nervous system plays a major role in the process of hair losing its color. This story was covered on the Updates Page of Follicle Thought, which I encourage you to check frequently if you are not doing so already.
Finally, I imagine many readers are also wondering what is going on behind the scenes for RiverTown Therapeutics Inc. I’m told by Dr. Weinstein that there is good chance for another update to come within two months time.
Posted in Hair Growth Treatment
Did Rivertown get funding yet to do a trial for rt1640?
Thanks for asking. Actually, Dr. Weinstein mentioned specifically to me that he is very focused on getting funding and has hired a new COO. He says funding must come for things to move forward.
When they can launch a product which can replace a grey hair into black permanently? Want to knw that it’s 2021 and still researchers can’t find the solution.
Only helps us if we have hair…
That is true Keith, I thought the news was noteworthy because it involves RT1640 which is one of the drugs in development to help grow more hair.
Also, gray hair and premature gray hair is experienced by a lot of readers of this blog, I receive many emails etc. about it and it is good to cover the topic of gray hair reversal as well.
What does this article got to do with curing hair loss?
Jkms, u ever heard of rt1640?
Yes, as mentioned the article is all about research on RT1640, it’s a topical drug developed by RiverTown Therapeutics for the treatment of hair loss. That’s what the article has to do with curing hair loss. You can read more about RT1640 on the Ultimate Guide to Hair Regeneration article.
Also, this blog does cover gray hair research as many readers are interested in it and it ties into hair rejuvenation science.
Some of the comments to this post are causing my hair to turn gray! 😉 Nice article admin, I’d love to see a gray hair cure almost as much as the cure for hair loss. Yoda started loosing hair in his late teens and graying in my early 30’s. Looking forward to the day when I can quit dumping all this, or at least as much, stuff on my noggin to hold onto my youthful appeal!
Thanks Yoda! Remember to take a few deep breaths when reading comments that could cause a little melanocyte deficiency 😉
I agree with you, I’m hoping that a few of the more ambitious treatment approaches end up coming to fruition sooner than later. A set of injections every few years sounds better than daily application, especially since the daily application can interfere with a lot of people’s hairstyles.
Grey hair is a concern for many of us here, premature gray hair in combination with hair loss makes you look 40 in your late 20s. I hope the hair loss cure and grey hair cure come at the same time.
thank you for article ,I’m concerned for grey and baldness as well so again thank you admin for post
Thank you Dwain, I appreciate it. If everything goes really well for RT this year, I believe it could be out by end of the 2023, maybe Q3 or Q4. The first half of this year should be very telling for the future of RT1640.
thanks news like this is good news just hope they don’t get bought out by a dye company
Thank you Dwain. And LoL, would be amazing if a dye company wanted to buy RT. I don’t see this happening, I think a dye company would only buy out a treatment which could completely change a full head of hair to its natural color within a few weeks or so. RT1640 does not have those full capabilities I don’t think, the restoration comes more sporadically.
Guys stop complaining this admin do a great job, it’s always a such a release to have news about this hair loss desease, each 10 days I am happy we have piece of news so stop whining
The cure for grey hair is available on the market!!!
It’s called: DYEING
Now only the little problem called hairloss have to be cured
Dyeing isn’t a cure for gray hair anymore than toppik is for hair thinning….how would you feel if someone said to you ‘the cure for baldness is on the market…..it’s called a toupee!’ ?
insider you are funny really if you think dying is a cure you are as silly as the comment how dumb
Why are some people so negative when it’s not about hair loss? They get more attention on this site than grey hair. Personally, this is great news! I have been waiting for a grey hair cure update for awhile now. I hope this will actually come out of the pipeline in the near future or something even better for grey hair will be out soon. To someone who said grey hair cure is to dye our hair…seriously? 1. Chemical dye in the long run is not good for the body.
2. Dye is NOT a cure, it is a temporary cover up that lasts for 1 month max. Not to mention dying our hair is costly.
Thanks admin for these updates and I really appreciate it. Makes these grey days easier to endure. ?
Yes u r ryt, grey shld be treated permanently becoz dyeing is not a permanent solution. Eagerly waiting
I would prefer being bald but black beard instead of bald and white beard
Does anyone know where Guiliani is with their WAY compound?
Apart from that is it just TissUse and Follica that could be out by the end of the year?
Thanks for bringing up Guiliani I am more interested in possible treatments in the near term as well.
Lisa, I’m extremely interested in Giuliani’s progress with their WAY cosmetic. It’s been a little strange I have not heard back from Dr. Marzani at Giuliani since the article was shared. I’m not sure what caused this, but, in general I’m a bit wary of readers sending excessive amounts of emails to companies after news comes out and asking for further updates etc., this can encourage companies to not release anymore news to prevent further email floods. I’m not sure if this is the case with Giuliani but this is a potential.
Thanks for the update!
Grey hair cure is almost as important as baldness cure for me!
I was hoping for dht resistant hair follicles and their hair colour restoration thingie but not sure what to think about that “company” now.
Thanks for chiming in Singh, I understand your sentiments, hopefully we will get some concrete announcements from a few companies in the first half of the year. At least Histogen is showing some progress for the time being.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32324292/
To me this seems very much like the closest thing to a cure. Surprised there isn’t much more buzz about this with cosmetic companies? Hopefully hear more about this in the near future..
Thanks for sharing this Andy. We won’t know if cosmetic companies are involved until a little later down the line, however, if the treatment does work as it claims in the paper, surely a cosmetic company will give it a shot.
@Admin, I read earlier RT1640 is for hair loss cure, isn’t it?
Or it treats both, hair loss & gray hair?
It’s meant to be a hair loss treatment/hair growth treatment foremost, but also has a side effect of mild/moderate gray hair reversal.
Thanks for the update! I’m glad to see they are making progress.
Thanks for the support Joanne.
Nice to see there is progress. Do I understand that right Dr. Weinstein already takes the drug? How does he look!? 🙂
Hi John, Dr. Weinstein does take the drug and has experienced hair regrowth and repigmentation. I’ve not seen a recent picture of him but would like to see if he’s still improving results inch by inch. By the way John, I emailed you twice recently but didn’t get a response.
Thank Admin, real news as always! Yoda is glad to hear this, after 30 plus years of dying my hair I recently let it go gray. Just go tired of dealing with it, plus my hair density has improved enough that I figured I give myself something else to obsess over! 😉
I was wondering, why do you always write in third person Yoda?
Good question Tom! The internet is full of people hiding behind personas, Yoda is just taking it to the next level. In addition it makes me seem pompous and ridiculous. 🙂
This gives me hope, thanks Admin for update, and I really hope you were wrong when you wrote in the comments of Koehler Lab thread that you think gray hair cure is a 10+ years away. We should all hope you were wrong.
Thanks concerned, someone asked me for my opinion, so I gave it. I certainly hope a gray hair cure comes out within next 7 years. Cheers.
How did you estimate 7 years? I feel so hopeless that a cure will come out in our lifetime. Now, I’m just hoping that Northwestern University will release the synthetic melanin dye that is supposedly healthier and safer.
It’s simply an estimation Jen. There is no current treatment in a pipeline to cure gray hair. RiverTown will only be a peripheral support for reversing gray hair, it’s not intended to be a full cure with an effect similar to hair dye.
I dont have thinning hair. I just have naturally very fine hair and naturally less density around temples(female). What treatment could I do now or in the future to increase hair shaft diameter?
Kind Regards Lily
Hi Lily, you may be better off to ask a dermatologist or hair surgeon but I think you could try the Viviscal supplement. I do not know if it’s appropriate to try minoxidil if you don’t have thinning hair but I don’t know of any other treatments that would increase hair diameter for women.
regarding RiverTown i take this really serious how many ceos take their own cure not many right great to see RiverTown CEO is!
when are these new updates they promised in video ?
I had one question regarding Finasteride. Does Finasteride’s effectiveness goes down after prolonged use ? It would be appreciated if someone who’s currently a long term Finasteride user could answer my question. I just turned 20 year old a couple weeks ago and I’ve been thinning hair since early 18’s I’m considering to take Finasteride knowing the fact the hysteria of it’s side effects are bit too harsh than it really is.
Lew…I was on Finasteride (both oral and topical) for over 20 years with good success. I started to notice it was not as effective about 4 years ago and switched to Dutasteride which helped. In regards to side effects, I experienced little to none (watery seamen for a period of time). My belief is that side effects are overblown on the internet. Sure, they exist but the data supports they occur in a very minor population of patients. This is true not only with the info on hair loss sufferers but also prostrate patients for which Finasteride was originally intended. Many people post with the notion that “everybody will get side effects” which is simply untrue, like you said “hysteria”. Everybody is different so my experience is not a lock on what you might experience.
Admin, any idea when we will hear something from Hairclone? I am very optimistic about the treatment. If nothing else, I just hope that it is better than the current treatments, which simply aren’t good enough.
Hi Paul, funny you mention that. Do you happen to have the https://folliclethought.com/Updates page bookmarked for easy daily checking? ?
Thanks, admin. I do check that regularly, but I missed the HairClone one!
Forgive my ignorance, but is “Q3” Jul-Sep?
No worries, yup you’ve got it Jul-Sep.
Did Paul disclose any other info about their progress by any chance?
Mattt, Paul told me they are training clinicians from US, Canada, and Australia and that they have submitted a patent application for a type of diagnostic assay (a type of test for cells/genes). The lab in Birmingham has re-opened with some restrictions, that’s all for now. Main idea is working towards Q2/Q3 for services offered.
Lew I have been on finasteride since 2001. It started losing its effectiveness around 2013. It kept my nw1.5 for a solid 12 years. I added rogaine foam in 2014 which helped control the shedding and gave me some regrowth. Still downward though. I’m a nw2.5 diffuse but nobody can tell I’m thinning if I blow dry my hair. It shows a bit in the temples if under direct sunlight but only a person who is also losing his hair would notice. I’m still slowly losing ground but I’m almost 40 so I consider finasteride a success. It kept my hair in tact through out my 20s and mid 30s. I did experience side the first year. Some ED and watery semen but it went away. The funny thing is I had bad acne in my early 20s and finasteride cured it. 2 months on fin my hair loss completely stopped and my acne was gone;) dont listen to the fear mongers on here. Take 1mg propecia everyday and you should keep your hair for years. If you get sides you can always quit.
Anyone experienced this?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jXx__KFbnaw
There are some more links in comment section of this video.
Hi admin
Do you know if the banking service offered by HairClone is currently available for people outside of the UK? I’d like to bank my follicles, but it would be better for me if I can get my follicles extracted in Canada.
Thanks for your work!
Will get back to you asap about this Sam.
Hi Sam, Paul Kemp just let me know “they are working closely with US and Canadian clinical partners, but none are fully trained and validated yet.” The delay is due to corona. No timeline for when it will be sorted out but perhaps late Fall is an estimate.
Thank you for your reply, and to Paul Kemp!
Cheers
Can somebody please copy the link of the Rivertown website …. I can not find it anymore. The only one I find has expired.
Their website rivertowntherapeutics.com has expired. This is not a good sign, the only good thing here is the Dr. Melissa Harris name on a research paper, because she is a trusted scientist.
This could just be a temporary issue about the RT website everyone. I know the intention is still to complete a clinical trial, corona has delayed the timeline but let’s see what the next few months bring for RT now that the paper is published.
What is the phase of this clinical trial if RiverTown does actually proceed with the research? Thanks!
RiverTown is going into a phase 2 trial.
Is anyone familiar with the Evolve compounding pharmacy? They offer some pretty interesting formulations with (hypothetically) synergistic compounds. For example, the Minox/tretinoin combo or Latanoprost/Fin. Tretinoin has shown significant potential as an enhancement agent to the expression of follicular sulfotransferase (the active metabolite through which Minox is works) which can potentially convert Minox non-responders to responders and enhance Minox effectiveness overall. However, the science behind the right concentrations of the compounds is a bit worrisome to me. I’m very interested in this but am having trouble rationalizing the potential risk factors. Curious to hear the community’s thoughts.
https://evolvecompanyinc.com/available-medications/
Good find and interesting site Due. I’m happy with my current supplier but have bookmarked for future reference if needed. My guess is that they are legit, you need a Dr.s RX and possibly a lab test. However some of their formulations seem a bit gimmicky to me. I’m pretty sure they will be quite pricey, the low amount of product that you get is a clue. Let us know if you give it a whirl.
Will do Yoda. Are you able to disclose your supplier? Also, I agree some of the formulations may be gimmicky but some are well supported by (limited) clinical trials. In terms of the concentrations, do you know of any resources that provide guidance to what might be an efficacious dosage for something like tretinoin + Minox?
Hi Due, I posted my source previously on here. I’m reluctant to do so without the Admin’s blessing. I’m not trying to advertise, just happy to help a brother out. From Yoda’s perspective (and experience) tretinoin can help but it’s no miracle. Minoxidil is dose dependent, for me concentrations up to 15% have proven safe. Yoda’s opinion is that liquid based products, when prepared properly, are superior to creams and lotions for penetration. One of the issues with liquid is keeping the minoxidil in suspension. If you get bored sometime Google Dr. Richard Lee/Xandrox. He’s no longer in business but you can still learn a lot. That guy saved my bacon when 5% Rogaine lost it’s effect, I learned what worked and what was important. It took me a number of years to find suitable replacements, Yoda has tried em all…or most all.
Very helpful, thanks Yoda. We are grateful for your time-tested wisdom in this space! I will do some reading on Dr. Lee. I came across the evolve pharmacy via the MorePlatesMoreDates youtube channel which is run by a gentleman who is fairly well versed in the biology around the hair loss/growth cycle. I have a meeting with Evolve in a week’s time so we will see if they know their stuff.
Separately, thank you for your efforts as always admin – I truly believe that the only way to have an edge in the hair loss prevention game is knowledge, which this blog is a fantastic source of.
Thanks DueDiligence!
I didn’t check the whole site yet, do they have doctors who will prescribe with virtual visit?
I believe so Joseph…actually owned by a doctor I think. I didn’t spend a lot of time, I believe you can of it as a virtual clinic with docs that order the labs, virtual consultations and sell the various concoctions.
Thanks for the support everyone, I’m working on some new interesting content at the moment. Should have a new article by Monday.
https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/30/eaba1685.full
Thank you Mrpig!
You are welcome admin
mouse studies…this doesnt change anything for people
Wnt Beta Catenin, 20 years and counting
FT what about the content u said u will post today (monday)?
By midnight
It’s been 4 months since this update, did we hear anything more from Dr. Weinstein or RT1640? I can’t even find their website anymore
Hi J, their website has been taken down. I don’t think he’s given up on the formula just yet, I know that the whole corona thing slowed down some planned trials for RT1640.
Thanks for the reply! I hope he hasn’t given up on it yet either. Seemed they were on the right track, with the peer review. Please keep us posted 🙂
2021 and still haven’t heard anything from Rivertown and their grey hair cure. Their cure was promising, do you think they still work on it or is there any other company that develops grey hair cure?
Hi Moh, please visit the Updates page and bookmark it in your browser to check it a few times a week to make sure you don’t miss important news. Rivertown had a disappointing update on 12/16/20 that the company is shutting down. See here https://folliclethought.com/updates/