In the News – Aderans and HairDX Team-Up in Japan

Snippet from the article:

Pharmacogenomics research and development innovator PharmaGenoma, Inc. and its subsidiary HairDX, LLC, pioneers genetic tests for predicting the risk of male and female hair loss, today announced an exclusive agreement with Aderans Company Limited of Tokyo to introduce the breakthrough tests in Japan starting on March 1, 2009. The HairDX test collection kit is listed with Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) as a Class I medical device.

The agreement makes Aderans the sole Japanese distributor of HairDX’s revolutionary genetic tests, and further expands Aderans’ leadership in the hair care and medical fields. Aderans and its group of companies span over 17 countries worldwide, and in 2001 Aderans purchased Bosley, Inc., one of the world’s largest brands in hair transplant, to further solidify its global position as a leading company in the hair care industry.

Read the full article at MarketWatch.

Interesting news regarding the business side of genetic testing. Yet in my opinion, the diagnosis of genetic male pattern balding (MPB) probably does not require a genetic test as the diagnosis is self evident in the pattern of balding or miniaturization. Do you need a genetic test to tell you that you have blue eyes? I suppose you can make the argument that you can slow down the balding process or start a medical treatment plan (Propecia) earlier if you know you have the “gene” for balding. But in my opinion, starting treatment without having evidence of balding is not the proper thing to do.

Predicting a possible fatal disease like genetic testing for breast cancer may pick up the risks early (before the cancer appears), but we would not take off the breasts of a 15 year old just because she carries the gene. Clearly the older a woman becomes, the greater the risk becomes, so the decision on when to treat the genetic propensity is difficult. I am all for genetic testing and research, but my personal bias on the HairDX testing is that it is a marketing tool rather than a clinical tool, as it should not dictate treatment without showing overt balding or miniaturization.