Dear Dr,

Thank you so much for the great website. I have two questions. Firstly, is there any chance that Propecia can lead to infertility in men?

Secondly, if the ‘theory’ behind hair multiplication is sound is there a type of ‘gold rush’ to get this to the market place? I only ever hear about aderans and intercytex. Surely, there must be more companies looking for a cure. It seems that intercytex has had ‘relatively’ good results so far in its trial for hair multiplication. Do you believe we will ever see a complete cure for baldness? Not just stopping people going bald but allowing extensively bald people to regrow hair. For example bruce willis regaining a full head of hair.

I do think there will be a cure for baldness, just as I think there will be a cure for cancer and a cure for a rash of other diseases and ailments. When that will be is anyone’s guess, but science progresses all the time. It won’t be within the next few years, but we can all hope for the best. I have no way of knowing if it’ll help Bruce Willis regrow a full mane of hair, though. We could speculate all day, but it is just a pipe dream at this point. Hair loss isn’t a life threatening disease, so you’re not seeing yellow plastic bracelets and pink ribbon stickers everywhere with people showing their desire to help fight against balding.

Aderans is a huge Japanese company with significant funding, and Intercytex is also well funded, so the market has space, but it isn’t just something any company can rush into without a whole lot of money backing them up unless they want to just fizzle out. I’d guess that many companies will wait until the technology is proven safe and effective (if it ever is) and take it from there. I mean, just look at the rush of products that came out containing minoxidil once that was available as a generic. There is just not much that is worth my time to evaluate at this stage. When it gets to the level where the FDA has to review it for clinical testing, then there will be a track record of science that got it there and as this will always be public information, we can assess the technology at that time.

Dr. Rassman,

On Tuesday of this week, Intercytex posted a press release on their website. This press release outlines the company’s clinical results for 2007.

The release does not tell us anything new about the phase 2 trial of ICX-TRC, which is due for completion later this year. It does, however, say the following:

“We believe the continued development of ICX-TRC would best be carried out in partnership with a specialist in the aesthetics field. We do not intend to finance the continuation of clinical and commercial development of ICX-TRC beyond the current Phase II trial and shall seek to sign a partner when we have the complete data package from this trial. Intercytex has granted Bosley, the largest chain of hair transplant clinics in the US, an option to negotiate distribution rights to the product.”

My initial reaction is that Intercytex no longer thinks it is worth developing the treatment any further. What are your thoughts on this?

I do not know enough about Intercytex and its research and development to adequately comment of the matter from a medical perspective. This sounds like a business issue. Drugs or techniques developed by one company often get sold off to another company (common in pharmaceutical industry).

Dear Doctor,

I know you have had many questions on hair multiplication over the years (but here is another one).

When/if hair cloning becomes commercially viable will it regenerate old, dead hair follices and make them DHT resistant so they continuously grow or will it create new follicles? I imagine it would be better to regenerate old follicles so that the hair grows in the same direction. I know that intercytex have managed to grow hair on a high proportion of their volunteers in phase 2 of their product, but was wondering whether you have any inside knowledge of whether they are creating new follicles or creating new ones. Also, what do you think of their progress? Many thanks

Some people think that there is a missing protein, and that when present, it will kick in hair growth from some residual hair elements that are in the scalp. If a missing protein is the answer, then the growth cycle may be dependent upon that molecule (see Scientists Find Hair Growth Molecule in Mice). There are many approaches to creating hair — some with existing hair follicles that are weak, from dead hair follicles that may not really be dead, or from stem cells which may actually turn into a hair organ/follicle.

I do not really keep up with Intercytex, but you can go to their site and get an update from their various news releases. Just as most press releases, they are written by a public relations person to hype the product or company, so take what you read with a grain of salt.

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I know you’ve been skeptical in the past when discussing hair multiplication, at least its viability in the near future (next 2-3 years). I’m wondering if you’d be willing to update your views on the timeframe for one of these “cure” solutions, and/or what you think the most promising treatments, drug or surgical, are on the horizon and what kind of timeframe we’re looking at. Obviously this requires a good deal of speculation but you are much better informed on the state of the hair loss treatment industry than most of us who just read your blog and don’t have time to get into the hardcore research.

Thanks for your blog!

Hair multiplication is most likely more than 2-3 years away. There was some talk about it at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) conference years ago, but nothing was said this past year (not the upcoming one in September, obviously), which I take to mean that there was no advancements worthy to take through FDA type of clinical trials. It is still an elusive “cure” far away on the horizon, but hopefully in our lifetime.

To put it in perspective, the cure for HIV/AIDS, diabetes, herpes, and even the common cold with billions of dollars invested in research is still a far distance away and may be easier to cure than balding is. I realize that the 10 year prediction seems to be a rolling number, but there is nothing out there to suggest that any breakthrough is imminent. I’m sure that statement will cause me to receive an email flood from angry fans of press releases, but show me some reproducible proof and I’ll be glad to post an update here.