follicept - what's this?

Appears to be hitting the internet today? Hope it's not snake oil, but would not be surprised if it is.

Just went to the company's website (http://www.prometheonpharma.com/home.html) - no information on follicept, but it doesn't overtly appear illegitimate.

Product's website: *************

The company also made the following post on facebook:

"Here it is! Exciting development that will help us fund insulin patch development! http://finance.yahoo.com/news/follic...133000049.html "

yawn.. prove to me it does anything. Im not even wasting my time reading about it until they link a study showing it might be better than snake oil. Its not up to me to waste my money for 6 months to prove your crap works its their job not mine

This.

Incidentally it's being labeled a "cosmetic" rather than a medical device or treatment. In other words, not proven to do anything.

its weird, they say they want to launch in 2015 but then on the pharmaceutical company's website they show that it has not gone through trials. Adenosine has been proven to be as effective as rogaine (I use it and not sure about it yet, hasn't been long enough, but at least no side effects) and also works by promoting IGF-1. It is certainly no finasteride though.

Just got this email from them. It doesn't seem like snake oil at all, but time will only tell how well it works. The good thing is he says you'd probably only have to apply it once a month or two though, because the growth factor transfers over to the next growth cycle. seems like kind of a histogen-lite. Hopefully something good will come of this, I could use a good minox replacement in 2015

"The reason for this is simple- we learned just a week or so ago that given our ingredients and dosing, the FDA classifies us as a cosmetic/natural remedy rather than a drug. Where Rogaine and Propecia use drugs that have the side effect of hair growth, our product uses the natural hormone IGF-1, which is the compound our own bodies use to regulate hair growth. This has long been known to be the ideal way to stimulate hair growth, but until core technology came about, no one could deliver directly to hair follicles in low enough doses to be safe but still effective. Our core platform technology allows large molecules, like insulin, IGF-1, and human growth hormone across the skin in just that way. So given this FDA classification, we can get to market much quicker- kind of like how food supplements at GNC don't go through clinical trials, they just have to be registered with the FDA and proven safe under basic guidelines. I am beginning the treatment on myself very soon, and will post before and after pictures, along with a few other early test subjects, as we gear up the manufacturing and distribution. All of the ingredients are safe and used in other cosmetic and consumer products, and the IGF-1 is at a tiny dose that won't harm the body but will still regrow hair. We just got pleasantly surprised with the classification allowing us to get to market even sooner- we have already been talking to the big players about our technology. "

Interesting. I hope it actually works, but these people didn't even know whether or not they were developing a drug or a cosmetic until a week ago. That doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in their ability to develop a treatment that actually works, and to get it to market. It looks like snake oil to me, but I'm open to hearing more after they have tested it further.

The expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 in follicular dermal papillae correlates with therapeutic efficacy of finasteride in androgenetic alopecia.



J Am Acad Dermatol. 2003 Aug;49(2):229-33.


The expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 in follicular dermal papillae correlates with therapeutic efficacy of finasteride in androgenetic alopecia.


Tang L, Bernardo O, Bolduc C, Lui H, Madani S, Shapiro J.


Division of Dermatology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver Hospital, Canada.


BACKGROUND: It is generally believed that dihydrotestosterone is one of the pivotal mediators of hair loss in androgenetic alopecia (AGA). Finasteride, which blocks the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, has now become an integral part of the current treatment approaches for male AGA. Several lines of evidence support the notion that dermal papilla (DP) cells represent the androgen target within the hair follicle. The specific molecular regulators modulated by androgens within hair follicles in the balding scalp are unknown. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify and quantify changes in expression of specific molecular hair growth regulators in DP of men with AGA treated with finasteride and correlate these findings to clinical efficacy. METHODS: Biopsy specimens were collected from 9 male patients from both the balding area and nonbalding occipital area before and after 4 months of finasteride therapy. DP were microdissected and total RNA was extracted from an equal number of DP from each biopsy specimen. The expression of various cytokines, including insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The signals were detected by autoradiography. All 9 patients were given finasteride for 1 year and evaluated for efficacy at month 12. Efficacy was graded on a 7-point scale on the basis of comparison with initial baseline photography. RESULTS: IGF-1 was up-regulated by finasteride treatment in 4 of 9 patients. Among the patients with increased IGF-1 expression, 3 of them showed moderate clinical improvement after 12 months of treatment and another patient remained unchanged. In contrast, 3 patients with decreased IGF-1 expression in the balding scalp showed clinical worsening after 12 months. The other 2 patients without noticeable change in IGF-1 expression showed either slight improvement or no change in their hair condition. CONCLUSION: In a small uncontrolled study of 9 patients with AGA, an increased expression of IGF-1 messenger RNA levels in the DP was associated with patient response to finasteride.

This is interesting because of the correlation being made between insulin-like growth factor 1, and the efficacy of finasteride. This may explain why there is a broad range of responses to the drug. there are many more articles about insulin resistance and hair loss on the Internet...

I can't use finasteride and I absolutely hate minoxidil, so I'm going to give this a try once it's out.

Safety and efficacy analysis of liposomal insulin-like growth factor-1 in a fluid gel formulation for hair-loss treatment in a hamster model.
Castro RF1, Azzalis LA, Feder D, Perazzo FF, Pereira EC, Junqueira VB, Rocha KC, Machado CD, Paschoal FC, Gnann LA, Fonseca FL.
Author information
1Discipline of Dermatology, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine ABC, Santo André, SP, Brazil.
Abstract
Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 has shown some interesting results in studies examining its use as a hair-loss treatment. IGF-1 works by regulating cellular proliferation and migration during the development of hair follicles. Hepatotoxicity and myelotoxicity were evaluated in hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) after topical application of the liquid gel vehicle (placebo), 1% IGF-1 or 3% IGF-1. No significant difference in the levels of aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase was found between the control and treated groups. ELISA did not shown any increase in the plasma level of IGF-1. A haematopoietic niche was found, but it was not associated with myelotoxicity. Efficacy was determined by dermatoscopy analysis of hair density and microscopy analysis of hair diameter, with hair found to be thicker and with more rapid growth in the 3% group than in either the 1% group or the control group. These results strongly suggest that liposomal IGF-1 in a liquid gel formulation is a safe and efficient treatment for hair loss.

When can it be purchased?

reading the test examples in this link makes this stuff sounds pretty good...

The real question is to know if this product will provide more regrowth than minox !

Originally came in to mock it as snake oil, but it honestly doesn't sound like bullhockey. Could be a cool supplemental thing. I might give it a shot.