Hair Cure April 2018: Replicel Check-In

As one of the top two hair growth treatments projected to reach the market in 2018, Replicel’s RCH-01 has a lot of people’s attention these days. When it was announced that the global cosmetic company Shiseido would trial Replicel’s hair growth technology in Japan, there was also talk from Shiseido that the treatment could reach the market in Japan as early as 2018. 

I know you’re all aware that the current year is, in fact, 2018 and we’re already into April. So, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at the progress of Replicel’s RCH-01 as we know it. Coincidentally, Replicel has been engaging in a “2018 Look Ahead” social media campaign over the last month, and I am a fan of it. Below, I’ll share and give commentary on a few of the images Replicel has shared on its Twitter account since the beginning of March.

Great Expectations 2018

 These images have been shared on Replicel’s Twitter along with the caption:

In 2018, Replicel shareholders should expect to see…”

I mean, that’s what we’re here for right? It’s positive to see that Replicel, an established business partner of Shiseido, is still anticipating data this year from Shiseido’s trial of RCH-01 in Japan. Depending upon the results of the data, we know that Shiseido would have the opportunity to make RCH-01 available in Japan to consumers worldwide. It’s also a reminder that Shiseido has been trialing RCH-01 on both men and women.

More worthwhile stuff here. It was in June 2017 that Replicel announced a research collaboration with the University of British Columbia to create a gene and protein expression “map” of hair follicle cells. As you can read above, the intention of the study is to identify gene and protein expressions that will help Replicel improve its cell therapies. i.e. potentially create more hair growth.

This item is less specific than the others, however it speaks to collaboration and product development. Replicel has had some time over the years to further develop its cell therapies and I’m interested in what types of advancements they might have made.

I hope you have enjoyed this check-in for RCH-01 which has sat atop the Ultimate Guide to Hair Regeneration for the last three years. Look out for more updates soon from Replicel and other companies which are closest to bringing forth products to market in 2018.

Images sourced from Replicel’s Twitter account.

51 Comments

  1. Dede on April 2, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    Wow great to hear this!! Thanks so much for keeping us updated! Hopefully this is the year!!



    • Follicle Thought on April 2, 2018 at 5:55 pm

      You’re welcome Dede and thank you so much for your kind comments and for supporting Follicle Thought!



  2. Hossein on April 2, 2018 at 6:21 pm

    I hope 2018 is the end of hair loss



  3. Trevor on April 2, 2018 at 6:52 pm

    Not sure I understand this. When exactly is a treatment going to be available?



    • Follicle Thought on April 2, 2018 at 10:58 pm

      There’s no set date Trevor, planned to be in 2018.



    • mao garcia on August 24, 2018 at 12:54 pm

      when you are goin to sell this product in colombia south america



  4. Vince on April 3, 2018 at 1:12 am

    Thanks for the update, I’ll be traveling to Japan next year if this materialize



    • Follicle Thought on April 3, 2018 at 9:37 am

      And thank you Vince, I appreciate you reading and commenting here.



  5. Welsh Dragon on April 3, 2018 at 3:11 am

    Yeah, good piece again. Thank you.

    I like the fact it is on RepliCel’s FB page rather than someone from RepliCel making big predictions through the press to drum up share price.

    It’s interesting how quiet Shiseido are! In reality they should have plenty of data to give an idea of how things are going. In your experience FT, is it normal for a company to be so quiet before data is released, if the data is positive?

    Cheers



    • Follicle Thought on April 3, 2018 at 3:50 pm

      Thanks for commenting, again. It’s pretty standard procedure for companies to be tight-lipped on clinical trials until the trial is completed, especially if its a double blind study. It will most likely be a mystery until they make an announcement…



  6. Colum Kenneally on April 3, 2018 at 4:24 am

    Is there any photos of this products results?



    • Follicle Thought on April 3, 2018 at 9:39 am

      I believe theres a link in the “2018 Will it cure hair loss?” article to some Replicel data, but it’s only close up microscope photos on scalp.



  7. AJ on April 3, 2018 at 3:08 pm

    If 2018 for Japan… 2019 for Europe? Or I am too optimistic?

    Kind regards, AJ



    • Follicle Thought on April 3, 2018 at 3:12 pm

      I would guess about 2.5 yrs after Japan to go into Europe, if all went perfectly.



  8. Trevor on April 3, 2018 at 6:42 pm

    On March 24, 2018, Replicel tweeted the following: “We’re expecting data from the Japanese clinical research from Shiseido later this year. ”
    What that means to me is that “data” would be coming out “later” in 2018. “Later” to me would be sometime late in 2018, like Oct, Nov or December. Which means the actual treatment would only be available in Japan in 2019, assuming “data” is promising.



    • Follicle Thought on April 3, 2018 at 10:41 pm

      This is a possible scenario, and it’s also possible the treatment could be market released in 2018, which has been Shiseido’s plan since the start. We’ll know more once the data gets here.



  9. Follicle Thought on April 3, 2018 at 10:36 pm

    They have released clinical data 8 years ago demonstrating that some folks did increase hair growth from just one injection session of RCH-01 #factsmatter



  10. Alex on April 3, 2018 at 10:51 pm

    Man, I hope something comes along before or by 2020. I’d like to not have to worry about anymore loss. I can deal with not regrowing what I’ve lost, but just stabilizing everything (beyond just propecia) would be amazing. I’ll head to Japan ASAP if this materializes.

    Gotta ask, FT, do you think Shiseido is actually going to materialize or do you think it will go the way of Adderans?



    • Follicle Thought on April 3, 2018 at 11:16 pm

      Alex, thanks for reading and commenting. To answer your question, my feeling is that Shiseido will materialize a treatment to market. As far as capabilities and when it comes out, we’ll know more after the data is released. But anything that helps…helps.



  11. Russell on April 4, 2018 at 2:28 am

    My take on this is:

    If they are releasing data later this year, then the experimental part of the trials have finished (or at worst) are about to finish. The remaining months will be spent on any remaining data analysis.

    Even without the full set of numbers I would expect it to be obvious to the people running the trial as to how successful the treatment is. The fact that they just recently promoted the upcoming results on twitter is a good sign–you don’t actively promote a failure.

    On the other hand is this ‘THE CURE’? I doubt it. The fact that they are collaborating with a university to do more research and (presumably) improve the product further indicates that it is lacking in some important respect.

    In conclusion I think we have reason to be excited about this, as long as we have realistic expectations.



    • Follicle Thought on April 4, 2018 at 11:20 am

      Thanks for the comment, Russell. I, too, am a proponent of optimism with realistic expectations.



  12. AJ on April 4, 2018 at 1:34 pm

    Admin… I am sorry to be off-topic, but have you heard from Rivertown recently? They’ve gone quiet for a long time now. Used to be a popular topic on here.



    • Follicle Thought on April 4, 2018 at 1:58 pm

      No problem about the off-topic, thanks for reading Follicle Thought and participating constructively.

      I’m sure you have seen the recent RiverTown article from this year, they’re still working towards their goals. Currently, they are seeking funding to initiate an important phase 2 trial in Australia. That’s what they require.



  13. Johannes on April 5, 2018 at 4:52 pm

    Nice update!
    Also a bit off the topic: does anyone of you know how shisheido releasing a successful treatment would affect the replicel stock? Looks as poor as it can get right now, so if it would raise even slightly that could give some great return for investing when it is still low.



  14. Augusto on April 9, 2018 at 9:30 am

    Buen día administrador, antes que nada quería agradecerle por la página, muy buena! Quería preguntarle si usted sabe en cuanto puede llegar este tratamiento a Sudamérica, desde ya muchas gracias!



  15. taep on April 22, 2018 at 12:35 am

    I enjoyed it. Could you update the latest update on the replicel?



  16. Kiki on May 15, 2018 at 5:59 am

    Any luck here?



    • Follicle Thought on May 15, 2018 at 10:53 am

      We should know something by August, I’d say.



  17. Matt on May 17, 2018 at 3:24 pm

    Oh, please, please, please let it work… I’ll happily travel to Japan and spend a grand.
    Thank you for your work, admin!



    • Follicle Thought on May 17, 2018 at 8:21 pm

      I appreciate it, Matt, thank you



  18. sergiu on May 21, 2018 at 1:06 am

    which is Shiseido official website for hair regeneration?



    • Follicle Thought on May 21, 2018 at 9:48 am

      Hi, it does not exist yet



  19. Lee Buckler on May 24, 2018 at 4:53 am

    Does the Phase II Trials have started? I’d like to watch the results in Q2 but I dont have the info, that the Trials began… 🙁



    • Follicle Thought on May 24, 2018 at 9:37 am

      Replicel has not started a phase 2. Shiseido is currently completing their own trial.



      • Lee Buckler on May 25, 2018 at 4:53 am

        thanks bro. But they didnt mention the start of Phase 2 anything. I thought they have to give an update to their shareholders havent they?!



        • Follicle Thought on May 25, 2018 at 10:32 am

          I haven’t seen anything on their website..



  20. ran on June 20, 2018 at 1:12 am

    Hello ADMIN,
    there is any update ?



    • Follicle Thought on June 21, 2018 at 10:07 am

      Not at the moment



      • Kiki on June 21, 2018 at 3:22 pm

        Why do you say August? Wasn’t it supposed to be released in Q3? ; )
        That should be next week – and yet radio silence. My dermatologist did mention she’s seen the labs in Japan, but signed an NDA. I have my doubts but she knew too many buzz words.
        Warmly,
        Kiki



        • Follicle Thought on June 21, 2018 at 11:16 pm

          That’s cool information about your dermatologist. Can’t really imagine why a dermatologist would make something up like that. Release dates for virtually all companies are subject to change.

          August is an estimate that Shiseido would have announced their results by then and then commented on market release.



          • Donna Lynas on August 2, 2018 at 2:41 pm

            Well it is August now, maybe this is the month???



  21. Daniel W Robinson on June 26, 2018 at 12:16 pm

    need a few closest locations that can do this procedure from. 19053 Pennsylvania



    • Follicle Thought on June 26, 2018 at 1:04 pm

      It may become available in Japan the soonest, no one else is offering it currently.



  22. Clive on July 7, 2018 at 2:47 pm

    Thanks for the update!
    When released in Japan, will they allow patients to travel and receive the threatment? As I heard that it may only be available for local residents

    Thanks



    • Follicle Thought on July 7, 2018 at 6:24 pm

      I do not see why it would only be allowed for local residents, but I imagine it’s going to be months before you get a validated answer.



    • mao garcia on August 24, 2018 at 1:02 pm

      want to have more informacion about the treatment the price and i want to go from south america to japan to take the treatment its that ok



  23. Mary on July 26, 2018 at 4:06 pm

    Heartfelt thanks to you, Follicle Thought. Information is power and the information this site has provided me with has certainly empowered me. I am a 41 year old female who has suffered with alopecia since the age of 12 (firstly areata and now androgenic). I have lost more than half my hair. It has ruined my confidence and made me depressed. Finding that there might, no, WILL be a cure soon has given me some much needed hope. I am so excited about Brotzu lotion & Replicel/Shisheido…I JUST WISH THEY’D HURRY UP!



  24. Endrit on November 7, 2018 at 8:57 am

    Going bald at age of 20 is pain in the heart I hope this technique will be available before I turn 25



  25. Jose on October 2, 2019 at 8:56 am

    What about Replicel?
    I dunno in wich phase are they. Any information?

    Thank you.



    • Follicle Thought on October 2, 2019 at 9:48 am

      Replicel is at phase 2 because they have previously completed a phase 1. They are seeking to complete a phase 2 trial, but need the money for it. Right now they waiting for positive results from the Shiseido trial which would bring them a lot of investment and financing. Then they would be able to finance their own trial.



      • José on October 2, 2019 at 10:19 am

        Thank you for your fast reply. It hard to say if its a good or a bad new.



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