follicept - what's this?

[follicept]

@ sdsurfin Spot on. I really do get a kick out of Swoopings posts the past few weeks. Devon has clearly stated several times that there is a possibility this might not even work so I don't know why the word scam is being thrown about so freely. He certainly doesn't seem like he's holding back from us and has gone to great trouble to answer our questions in detail. Collectively, we should give the guy a break. I'm surprised he still bothers posting after the torrents of abuse and critisim he has suffered. I'm happy to just sit back and let these guys get on with it. sd its good to know you have formed a rapport with the follicept team as this could be very helpful to us all here and can't think of a better person for the job.

@Jagger Agree with that friend. I don't claim to know much about anything hair loss related. Were lucky in that we have a good few members on here (sdsurfin, noisette to name a couple) who are very knowledgeable but some who also think they know everything there is to know and there is no reasoning with them. As you say, bottom line here is we're all in the same boat so we should be helping each other not acting like we're back in school.

Thanks for this. I often wonder why I continue to respond, haha. I know there is a silent, positive majority and a very loud very tiny majority so I try to react to the noise to give our supporters more confidence or at least information.

[follicept]

Have you guys seen this video??? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpHr...ature=youtu.be


DEVON:
I look to be around the same age and exact same degree/type of hair loss. I would be EXTREMELY curious to follow your results!!!!! PLEASE share with me

We definitely will. Yeah I am 27.

[follicept]

First time poster here but been a lurker for almost a year now.

I just want to say that I've been following this thread religiously as well as other threads and besides the PGD2 pathway I don't see much hope. Not that I know too as much as swooping or sdsurfin but just from my sheer observation.

@stayhopeful You and I are definitely alike I'm looking a this exactly as you are. You have probably been the most objective person so far on this thread Lol and I get a kick everytime you post bro.
I just have to SMH at you Swooping. As someone who is seemingly pretty intelligent you perverse your delivery into just making yourself into a know-it-all. But all that aside, you provide valuable insight and as much as I hate to say this...

Please keep posting.

You too sdsurfin, you as well as hellouser and desmond84 have really been proactive in your fights against hairloss and I can't thank you guys enough. As with all hair loss sufferers, any hope is hope; no matter the increment.

As someone who still can pull off a NW1 when pomping my hair but who is still losing ground fast, each day is a little darker in the mirror but with characters like all of you my day is a little better knowing there are smart people besides doctors who really do provide more than just anecdotal information but with medical literature to back it up.

Lastly, THANK YOU DEVON & your team. For all of the mud slinging that Swooping&co have done, has anyone even looked up Devon Grimme's credentials? This dude has been killing it since day 1. I think he's like 26-28 y old but he's already a Director of Business Dev @ Prometheon Pharma and has already started his own company with annual revenues of 200k.... IN COLLEGE....IN UNDERGRAD...BEFORE HE GOT HIS MBA.

I'm just saying, if you don't want to trust this guy on grounds of hair loss curability...understandable, but he is definitely results driven in all things business and no, this doesn't smell like feces of a bullish material- EVEN IF IT DOESN'T WORK OUT.

TL;DR KEEP POSTING guys the more proactive we are, the more they have to respond - good or bad.

As others said, great first post. Few things to address.

About the posting- not sure I entirely agree with that one, haha. I do have other things to do and we are a small team. It's important to me to respond and keep you informed but don't post for the sake of posting, please!! Trust me, I am not hard to contact and engage, and I check in every few days to respond. No need to go nuts.

As for skepticism: it is warranted. The burden of proof is on us. Many have the right attitude- hope they succeed, but doubt it and will wait and see. Spot on. For those who think this is some brilliant scheme to earn trust and screw you later, I wish I was that smart or that mean. Don't give me too much credit.

On the rats, we didn't start on them because we knew they were easy. We had no clue we would get such an early or strong response from you all, and had no idea there was such a negative stigma around them. We started on them knowing we'd move to large animals next, until we realized we could get to market sooner, and there is a ban in many countries on animal testing. So we are stuck until human tests, with an earlier and bigger response than we thought, and a tougher time than we anticipated getting IGF-1. With insulin, we just wrote a prescription for research use with a DEA exempt license and got it. Simple. Not so with IGF-1, which we had no way of knowing until we tried. In retrospect, we of course would have done things differently, but here we are.

I have solid credentials, thank you for that. I have achieved a lot, ever since elementary school- awards like crazy. However, my life has not been easy, and I have relied on the faith and confidence of people who encouraged me in order to get to where I am. Perhaps I care too much what people think of me, and that's why I respond so much. I fail every day at things, and may fail at this. But if I lost trust of those who support me or sacrificed my integrity, I would truly have failed and would lose everything.

I grew up in Hawaii, and one of my favorite singers, brother Israel Kamakawiwo'ole says "Being Hawaiian to me is getting where you are going without stepping on anybody's toes." I try to live by that every single day. More important than any accomplishment I have been lucky enough to achieve in my 27 years is knowing that I did it honestly. I have to be able to put my head on my pillow and sleep at night (so that I can be bummed in the morning at all the hairs on my pillow). I have awards from ethics and humanitarian organizations that mean more to me than any other awards I have received. Ultimately, there is nothing I can do or say to convince those who do not wish to be convinced, but I am the real deal, and I have and will do anything I can to make this company survive and get this product to market, without deceiving anyone.

We could have sold out to bigger companies who may have shelved it. We could have asked for money already- this is not a setup to build confidence to screw you later. I hadn't even thought of that. If you had any clue how much debt I have put myself in to support myself and this company, you would know how tempting that is. But I won't. I would rather fail honestly, which could happen in the next few months, and have to start my life over completely, than take money I didn't earn. You've seen what I can do so far, and I will do it again in order to support myself.

Trust me guys, we are the real deal as human beings. We will see if the science holds up. Stay skeptical, let us prove it, and don't give us a dime until we do. But please ease up on the personal attacks and just wait for some results. I promise we are working hard to advance this process, and no one is more impatient than me (except maybe my creditors) to get this thing moving. Emailed the CEO today of the company who makes the IGF-1. If I don't get a response soon, I will ask you all to rain hell on all of them with (friendly and positive but persuasive) emails and calls. Not quite there yet. Hang tight.

Devon

[Stocione]

The fact that they can't get funding under these market conditions is highly suspicious. My advice would be to not get your hopes up.

That's not true in the least. I worked for a consulting organization that worked with biotechs and many with sound research and good results still found it difficult to raise funds. I now work at a start up that has successfully raised over 30 million dollars, but that took years. I question your knowledge of the start up biotech space.

Not the getting your hopes up part - I'm with you there. But for reasons independent of funding. I wouldn't be shocked to see it work better than minoxidil (which is not to say all that much, if you look at median rather than mean results) but I wouldn't be shocked if it does nothing on the human head.

For all the folks complaining about the copy on the web site, grow up. This is a for profit company that is trying to raise attention for a product. If you ever want to grow hair on your head some day you are going to have to let start up companies embellish a bit. It goes with the territory.

Good luck Follicept and I'll check in to see results.

[follicept]

That's not true in the least. I worked for a consulting organization that worked with biotechs and many with sound research and good results still found it difficult to raise funds. I now work at a start up that has successfully raised over 30 million dollars, but that took years. I question your knowledge of the start up biotech space.

Not the getting your hopes up part - I'm with you there. But for reasons independent of funding. I wouldn't be shocked to see it work better than minoxidil (which is not to say all that much, if you look at median rather than mean results) but I wouldn't be shocked if it does nothing on the human head.

For all the folks complaining about the copy on the web site, grow up. This is a for profit company that is trying to raise attention for a product. If you ever want to grow hair on your head some day you are going to have to let start up companies embellish a bit. It goes with the territory.

Good luck Follicept and I'll check in to see results.

Bingo, thanks! Got any connections to funding? (Before anyone freaks out investors go through serious due diligence and decide on our merits, it's not selling them snake oil either).

[FearTheLoss]

Respectable response Devon. I wish you guys the best of luck, we'd all love to see someone finally succeed in this mess. As you can see it's a massive market that's been saturated with a lot of false hopes and snake oil treatments, so anything that seems fishy in the slightest will be questioned, but I hope you guys do succeed. For you and for us all.

[follicept]

Respectable response Devon. I wish you guys the best of luck, we'd all love to see someone finally succeed in this mess. As you can see it's a massive market that's been saturated with a lot of false hopes and snake oil treatments, so anything that seems fishy in the slightest will be questioned, but I hope you guys do succeed. For you and for us all.

Thanks for that. No doubt. Don't mind the questioning of the science and happy to engage. Just don't appreciate the personal attacks and being called scammers. we're just people trying to help and succeed, facing a Herculean task and huge burden of proof. Let's keep it about that and not us. That's all. I already have enough difficulty persevering, don't need any help!

[liba]

As others said, great first post. Few things to address.

About the posting- not sure I entirely agree with that one, haha. I do have other things to do and we are a small team. It's important to me to respond and keep you informed but don't post for the sake of posting, please!! Trust me, I am not hard to contact and engage, and I check in every few days to respond. No need to go nuts.

As for skepticism: it is warranted. The burden of proof is on us. Many have the right attitude- hope they succeed, but doubt it and will wait and see. Spot on. For those who think this is some brilliant scheme to earn trust and screw you later, I wish I was that smart or that mean. Don't give me too much credit.

On the rats, we didn't start on them because we knew they were easy. We had no clue we would get such an early or strong response from you all, and had no idea there was such a negative stigma around them. We started on them knowing we'd move to large animals next, until we realized we could get to market sooner, and there is a ban in many countries on animal testing. So we are stuck until human tests, with an earlier and bigger response than we thought, and a tougher time than we anticipated getting IGF-1. With insulin, we just wrote a prescription for research use with a DEA exempt license and got it. Simple. Not so with IGF-1, which we had no way of knowing until we tried. In retrospect, we of course would have done things differently, but here we are.

I have solid credentials, thank you for that. I have achieved a lot, ever since elementary school- awards like crazy. However, my life has not been easy, and I have relied on the faith and confidence of people who encouraged me in order to get to where I am. Perhaps I care too much what people think of me, and that's why I respond so much. I fail every day at things, and may fail at this. But if I lost trust of those who support me or sacrificed my integrity, I would truly have failed and would lose everything.

I grew up in Hawaii, and one of my favorite singers, brother Israel Kamakawiwo'ole says "Being Hawaiian to me is getting where you are going without stepping on anybody's toes." I try to live by that every single day. More important than any accomplishment I have been lucky enough to achieve in my 27 years is knowing that I did it honestly. I have to be able to put my head on my pillow and sleep at night (so that I can be bummed in the morning at all the hairs on my pillow). I have awards from ethics and humanitarian organizations that mean more to me than any other awards I have received. Ultimately, there is nothing I can do or say to convince those who do not wish to be convinced, but I am the real deal, and I have and will do anything I can to make this company survive and get this product to market, without deceiving anyone.

We could have sold out to bigger companies who may have shelved it. We could have asked for money already- this is not a setup to build confidence to screw you later. I hadn't even thought of that. If you had any clue how much debt I have put myself in to support myself and this company, you would know how tempting that is. But I won't. I would rather fail honestly, which could happen in the next few months, and have to start my life over completely, than take money I didn't earn. You've seen what I can do so far, and I will do it again in order to support myself.

Trust me guys, we are the real deal as human beings. We will see if the science holds up. Stay skeptical, let us prove it, and don't give us a dime until we do. But please ease up on the personal attacks and just wait for some results. I promise we are working hard to advance this process, and no one is more impatient than me (except maybe my creditors) to get this thing moving. Emailed the CEO today of the company who makes the IGF-1. If I don't get a response soon, I will ask you all to rain hell on all of them with (friendly and positive but persuasive) emails and calls. Not quite there yet. Hang tight.

Devon

Devon,
First thanks again for your effort.
I have some thought recently that I'd like to share with you, about your delivery technique for the protein. From what I understand, it is a common vehicle which works for different kinds of large proteins, not just analogs of insulin right? If that is the case, you can consider many other growth factors, which also have been shown to have positive effects on hair growth, like VEGF, KGF, etc. I know some bogus products claimed to have used these things, but it's possible they are either totally fake or using alcohol as vehicle. If you are confident that your technique is the key to strike the target, you can really consider adding more ingredients and put them into real use. I know you guys were always dealing with insulin analogs, but it is not obligatory to stick to that when you are working on the problem of mpb.

[follicept]

Devon,
First thanks again for your effort.
I have some thought recently that I'd like to share with you, about your delivery technique for the protein. From what I understand, it is a common vehicle which works for different kinds of large proteins, not just analogs of insulin right? If that is the case, you can consider many other growth factors, which also have been shown to have positive effects on hair growth, like VEGF, KGF, etc. I know some bogus products claimed to have used these things, but it's possible they are either totally fake or using alcohol as vehicle. If you are confident that your technique is the key to strike the target, you can really consider adding more ingredients and put them into real use. I know you guys were always dealing with insulin analogs, but it is not obligatory to stick to that when you are working on the problem of mpb.

Yeah of course. I'm not sure their molecular weights, but probably doable. From a scientific standpoint, we should test just IGF-1 at first, and build up to combinations. Other therapies just dump tons of growth factors hoping something works. We'll start from here and build up if needed.

[willy]

It's easy to get funding. Just take extremely good before and after video / pictures and if it can be proven to work, make a first batch and go on kickstarter and start selling or just asking for contributions.

In my opinion, success or fail at least it's another gain of knowledge in what works and what doesn't. MPB is a finite puzzle is it not?

Anyway I don't think Follicept is intending to scam us because... well I can't speak for everyone, but I wouldn't destroy my reputation for a few thousand bucks....even tens of thousands. cheers