Why Do People Think Drug Companies Are Holding The Hair Loss Cure Hostage?
I wanted to run this article by you and your readers. I am not sure to the validity of the article, I will leave that up for you to decide.
Something I wanted to address that I have seen a lot of, on the web, is skeptics that believe that the “evil” drug companies are holding out on everyday consumers. They know how many millions of individuals would pay large amounts of money for a cure. It would make perfect “cents” that IF a pharmaceutical company had a cure, they would take it public!
The need to define the limitations of the drug and make realistic claims about it (which reflect overall safety and effectiveness) is critical before the pharmaceutical company that owns the rights to the drug can put it on the market and make a fortune on it… IF IT WORKS. It is obvious that a working and safe treatment is critical to the path that this drug must follow. It’s in any company’s best interest to be able to prove a working cure is available. The first to reach that milestone will reap large financial rewards.
In regards to the article, whether Latisse works on the scalp or not, the current financial costs are likely to be out of reach for most people, as the drug is packaged in small doses for use in eyelash growth. Allergan (the makers of Latisse) are conducting trials for scalp hair loss, and the results of which should be released sometime next year. If successful, we’ll see what happens from there.
I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist here, but we all know in this day and age certain cures and remedies are only affordable and accessible by the rich and famous. Take for example Magic Johnson. Now I know this story never gets old, but I remember they had done an interview with him not to long ago and the doctors who treated Magic admitted that he got a jumpstart on such therapies such as HAART, almost a year and half before it came available to the general public. Anybody can search this online to make sure I am not making this up.
In terms of hair loss cures, I am sure there is nothing breakthrough out right now otherwise we wouldn’t be seeing bald celebs, but I am pretty sure something is being developed that the general public does not know of yet.
But with all due respect Brian, that doesn’t make much sense. There are men out there willing to part with $20-30k to get good heads of hair that aren’t even particularly wealthy. It doesn’t matter if Magic Johnson is willing to pay let’s say even $1 million for something like HAART, if there were 1,000 men willing to pay $20k for the same treatment (and there are probably millions of men worldwide willing to pay that), then the profit is in the masses.
I don’t doubt rich people can probably do their research and seek out the best doctors and most exciting, innovative therapies earlier than some people, but the idea there is a whole sub-culture of amazing, cutting edge research and technology the rest of the world simply has no idea about is just too far-fetched.
Also, just because you have money doesn’t make you good at research or picking the best way to combat hairloss. There are lots of examples of millionaire and billionaire celebs making horrendous decisions or simply not having the time, dedication or inclination to get their hair back.
The simple truth is no one therapy or drug is close to being a magic bullet for hairloss and it’s unlikely that will change any time soon. Combinations of therapy and surgery that add up to give a good head of hair back are much more likely the way forward for the next decade or two.
As someone who is an infectious disease physician and former AIDS researcher (and a neurologist in the event that other posts require my disclosure), Magic Johnson did not get a “heads start” on HAART. The only way a patient can get a “heads start” on using a drug is if he/she participates in a clinical trial before drug approval, is lucky enough to be on active drug rather than placebo, and continues the drug after approval. This wasn’t the case for Magic Johnson. What happened was that his physician was a strong advocate of HAART and felt it was of great benefit after approval but before many long-term studies were done (approval was done in an accelerated fashion by the FDA).
Drug companies make major bucks (billions) with blockbuster drugs and their goal is to get them approved and on the market as soon as possible. Despite the fact that many people can not afford approved drugs and don’t have insurance, the notion that cures and remedies are available to the rich and famous is silly. Unfortunately, most “rich and famous people’ (Steve Jobs, etc) still die of horrible diseases (especially cancer) because so many bad illnesses still have no effective cures.
What I should have concluded is: while it is probably true that many things are being developed that the public is not aware of, when a drug enters human trials and those trials are successful, the results are almost always public because it is a way for the company to generate increased revenue via stock or investors. If there is something promising in test tubes somewhere, you can be sure it will be public info if it successfully progresses.
Dr.L – Search online about ‘Magic Johnson and aids’, and there is an article online that clearly states he got a “jump start” on certain therapies before anybody else did. Afterwards his therapies were available to the general public.