Shiseido Trial Update, Topical Reverses Baldness after Decades: Weekly Thoughts 7/1/16

Hey everybody, welcome to another installment of Weekly Thoughts. This week we get an encouraging update about the logistics of Shiseido’s trial and more information about the RiverTown Therapeutics Inc. compound.

Shiseido Closer to Trial

News was finally released this week about Shiseido’s upcoming trial in Japan using Replicel’s RCH-01 technology. Shiseido acquired an exclusive license in 2013 to bring Replicel’s hair regeneration therapy to market in Asian countries. Since then, it was known that Shiseido would be implementing its own clinical trials of RCH-01 in Japan which would bring RCH-01 to market much sooner than the US clinical trial timelime. Many had thought that Shiseido’s trial would commence in 1st half 2016, but that was not the case. It appears that Shisiedo is finally ready to begin its trial in Japan which would be the only trial necessary to bring the therapy to market, as long as the therapy showed efficacy/safety initially and maintained safety after the duration of the trial.

The details of the trial that we know at this time include:

  • 60 men and women
  • Tokyo Medical University Hospital & Toho University Ohashi Medical Center are the sites
  • Study will continue for 3 years to observe efficacy and especially safety
  • No official start date yet, but appears to be within 3rd quarter 2016

*This does not mean the trial would take 3 years to complete before the therapy could be out on market, I know that for sure. As to how long before the treatment could be made available I am not certain, but I believe the phase of the trial necessary to bring the treatment to marker is about 1.5 years, the remaining length of the trial is to keep watch and make sure there are no adverse effects that develop over time.

RiverTown’s ‘a flowing

RiverTown Therapeutics Inc. was part of the Mid Atlantic Bio Angels 1st Pitch Life Science Competition this month and tied for the “Best in Show” honors along with 6Degrees company. This is definitely an encouraging sign for this intriguing newcomer to the hair growth tech scene. The lead therapy candidate being shown off by RiverTown Therapeutics Inc. is named RT-1640 and is reportedly a combination of three agents that have strong safety profiles and have been used in humans for a long time. The effect of these combined agents is claimed to reactivate hair follicles and even rejuvenate the melanocyte stem cells (cells responsible for giving hair its color). What was even more interesting was a quote that David Weinstein, MD PhD, founder of RT, provided for the write up about his success at the event:

“Hair regeneration and maintenance are complex processes that involve multiple pathways. The components in RT1640 restart the hair growth process and support the nascent and mature hair.  The net result is the growth of new hair, even after decades of baldness,”

Decades?…….Decades as in groups of 10 years? Those kind of decades? We’ve never heard of a topical that could revive hair follicles after they had been severely shrunken for many years. That’s pretty impressive. According to the myBio 2016 event, RiverTown’s RT1640 is currently approaching phase 2 of clinical trials. The company seems to be doing very well in terms of attracting investors and certainly that trend looks to continue.

As they say, “things are looking up.” Stay grateful everyone and be well.

30 Comments

  1. Biff on July 1, 2016 at 4:59 pm

    Ughhhhh… 3 year trial. That offers release in 2020 if all goes well. Please somebody help.



    • Follicle Thought on July 1, 2016 at 5:00 pm

      Thank you for pointing that out Biff.

      I will clarify in post.



  2. saahil on July 1, 2016 at 6:00 pm

    Long way to go….. I’m expecting this not before 2020……



    • Follicle Thought on July 1, 2016 at 6:47 pm

      Currently, I don’t agree.



      • İsimsiz on July 1, 2016 at 7:47 pm

        Baldness will be the date of 2020?



      • Biff on July 1, 2016 at 9:53 pm

        Thanks for the clarification today! 2 years is very hopeful. I’m hoping for a better topical treatment in 2017 so I don’t have to shave my head. My had is so ugly. I’ve tried. 🙂 any ways, I love the blog and check it frequently. Thanks for your attention to this.



        • Louis Samuels on July 2, 2016 at 5:49 pm

          Me too. I’m waiting a new topical treatment in 2017. I hope Rivertown therapeutics hits the market before 2019. That’s a nice blog.



  3. Follicle Thought on July 2, 2016 at 12:07 am

    Thanks Stu



  4. hlscc on July 3, 2016 at 1:43 pm

    My expectations:

    kelopesia early 2017 : (probably snake oil)
    Brotzu late 2017 : expected to be better than minox and finasteride
    replicel shiseido and follica 2019 : Should be the best treatments so far
    “Baldness Cure” : Probably in 20 years …



  5. James Allen on July 5, 2016 at 8:13 am

    Hope this trial is going well with the best result. I believe it will go to commerce soon; technology is growing fast, and everybody can keep hope for the miracle.



  6. tom on July 5, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    I dont get why so many are excited about brotzu when we have yet to see its work on mpb. Im sure I could find a respected surgeon to agree to market a snake oil product if it brings him/her more wealth. It al come down to $. Hope im wrong, had my hopes up way too long



    • hlscc on July 5, 2016 at 8:24 pm

      He’s a reputable 81 years old dr, do u think he will end his career with a bad reputation and seeking for delivering a snake oil to make money? I dont think so… I think that his lotion will slightly be better than minox and without side effects.



  7. Tiago Jesus on July 7, 2016 at 10:21 am

    Honestly, I don’t care if I have to wait two, three, four years.. They pass in a jiffy. If they release the definitive cure for baldness in a full hand of years, I’m a happy guy. The guy from Sheisedo says that even bald heads with decades of emptiness may restart the process of hair growth. When I read that, I got chicken bumps, if he’s telling the truth and the future holds this sort of treatment, I don’t care if I have to wait for 4/5 years. 🙂

    You go Sheisedo, you go girl.



  8. Lazzamataz on July 9, 2016 at 1:40 am

    Can you cite the source for your info on the Shiseido update?

    Replicel’s facebook went dark a few months back.



    • Follicle Thought on July 9, 2016 at 6:20 pm

      Source is linked in the article, blue highlighted words.



  9. stan on July 9, 2016 at 9:18 pm

    Two questions…

    1. I noticed that Replicel’s stock price (if I’m looking at the right company) is $.08, down from about $.30 in July. Aren’t they the company working with Shiseido? If this is a promising treatment, why is Replicel stock almost worthless?

    2. I haven’t seen Angela Christiano’s name associated with stem cell as much lately. Is she still working in this area or is she totally committed to JAK inhibitors?

    Thanks



    • Follicle Thought on July 10, 2016 at 1:52 am

      Hi Stan,

      1. That is a question that a financial industry specialist would have to answer. Probably because everyone is waiting for the next trial…

      2. Christiano is still doing hair research for sure. Most likely DP cell stuff, possibly some more JAK inhibitor work but that’s really been handed over to Aclaris now.



  10. Sam on July 11, 2016 at 4:13 am

    Joseph when are you going to update the hair regeneration guide?



    • Follicle Thought on July 11, 2016 at 8:19 pm

      Hi Sam,

      I was waiting on a graph to be done, but I am not sure what the status of the graph is. I’ll be making some updates this week actually 🙂



    • Follicle Thought on July 17, 2016 at 2:32 pm

      It’s been a busy week for me, but I will get to it soon, Sam.



    • Follicle Thought on July 14, 2016 at 3:27 am

      Thank you very much, I have just come across this article myself and will share some insights in a new weekly thoughts coming soon.



  11. M on July 14, 2016 at 4:29 am

    Hey Joseph, unrelated to this post, I sent you an email, you never replied, just a little reminder, I do understand if you do not have the time.



    • Follicle Thought on July 14, 2016 at 9:55 pm

      Hi M,

      I never received the email, please try sending again. Thanks



  12. Anders Aldén on July 14, 2016 at 3:26 pm

    Swedish company search for a cure.

    Follicum initiated a clinical phase I / IIa study in January, 2016.

    Follicum’s primary drug candidate has, in preclinical studies, been shown to inhibit hair growth very efficiently. In other preclinical models strong stimulation of hair growth has been observed

    http://follicum.se/en/



  13. Abdullah on July 15, 2016 at 5:30 am

    Is this treatment suitable for women’s Androgenetic alopecia.



    • Follicle Thought on July 15, 2016 at 9:31 pm

      Hi Abdullah,

      Which treatment are you referring to?



  14. Abdullah on July 16, 2016 at 2:28 am

    are Shiseido or replicel suitable for AGA womens.



    • Follicle Thought on July 16, 2016 at 2:31 pm

      Yes, they are being marketed to both men and women.



  15. Michael Soares on July 23, 2016 at 5:34 pm

    I think This kind of tratment will be the best one for baldness,
    will this treatment be available in other countries, like in Brazil?



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