-
Interesting (old) article on Follica:
http://www.fiercebiotech.com/special...eloper-follica
That insight - using an abrasive procedure on the skin and then treating it with reformulated compounds -- was enough to get Follica launched in 2006. At the beginning of this year, PureTech helped round up $5.5 million for the start-up's Series A and an $11 million round followed earlier this month. Interwest Partners was one of the original investors and Polaris Venture Partners led the second round.
^That suggests that Cotsarelis has been sitting on a cure for at least the last 8 years and trials have been going on for nearly that long. If, as they say, the added compounds are known and safe compounds, there should be no reason for Follica to take '17 years' as other drugs take. For example, when finasteride was approved for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia back in the early 90s, it was QUICKLY approved as a hair loss treatment only 2 or 3 years later. Given that they've been at it for so many years, I cannot see it dragging on for another 10 years.
And a recent article on Follica from last year:
http://www.hairtodaytheretomorrow.co...-for-baldness/
Bernat Olle, Follica co-founder and PureTech principal, says that the skin-perturbation procedure isn’t painful, but that the area could be numbed anyway. He adds that in both preclinical and clinical trials, “we’ve been able to consistently show that we create substantial new hair follicles in humans, and that’s something that no other approach in hair loss as far as I am aware has been able to achieve.
The new hair follicles are said to have functioned normally, cycled through the normal stages of hair growth and exhibited normal architecture, including a full complement of stem cells.”
^Thats promising. I wish we knew what they're using for generating new follicles.
-
Damn I hope they hurry up and get this on shelves!!
-
They have stated pretty much that their method works i.e constantly growing new follicles.
The big question every one wants to know is "WHEN" can we have it
-
Senior Member
Cone on Follica we're all rooting for you! bring it home, give us the next positive stage news!
-
Originally Posted by hellouser
^Thats promising. I wish we knew what they're using for generating new follicles.
Originally Posted by joely
They have stated pretty much that their method works i.e constantly growing new follicles.
The big question every one wants to know is "WHEN" can we have it
If they were consistently generating new follicles then they would share the pictures. The fact that they haven't provided any documented evidence tells me all I need to know. That doesn't mean they won't come up with something interesting in the future, but at this very moment, I doubt they have anything to get too excited about.
-
Originally Posted by JJJJrS
If they were consistently generating new follicles then they would share the pictures. The fact that they haven't provided any documented evidence tells me all I need to know. That doesn't mean they won't come up with something interesting in the future, but at this very moment, I doubt they have anything to get too excited about.
If this was Histogen or Replicel I would agree, but Follica is different. They have no need to provide pics because they are privately funded, and they have ALWAYS been super secretive.
So not releasing pics totally fits with Follica's way of doing things. They are not trying to promote a product or draw investors like the others.
-
Originally Posted by Pate
If this was Histogen or Replicel I would agree, but Follica is different. They have no need to provide pics because they are privately funded, and they have ALWAYS been super secretive.
So not releasing pics totally fits with Follica's way of doing things. They are not trying to promote a product or draw investors like the others.
This is true. Hell, they're so damn secretive we have absolutely NO idea what their protocol is like. At least with Histogen we know what they're using for injections. Follica? No information... just speculations about lithium, FGF-9 and that's pretty much it.
I'm fairly sure they're going about it like KFC and their fried chicken recipe; nobody has a clue and nobody will have a clue of how its done. Daphne Zohar (head of Puretech Ventures) even said in an interview she cant say what the chemicals are used for treatment.
-
Another article on Follica, this one I found via Daphne Zohar's twitter account;
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articl...ing-Solution-/
“Very little is known about the mechanism of hair follicle neogenesis besides the Wnt family, so the discovery of Fgf9 was very important,” says Luis Garza, a dermatologist at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who has previously collaborated with Cotsarelis but was not involved in this research. “There are probably a whole panoply of agents which control regeneration,” but this study demonstrates Fgf9’s potential as a baldness therapy.
The next step is to test the effects of Fgf9 on human skin in xenograft models and then in the clinic. “If results hold up in humans, we could expect a several-fold increase in new follicles beyond what we were already accomplishing,” says Olle.
And BAM, Garza's comments in regards to Follica are speculation and nothing more than that. But the rest of the stuff in the quoted content above is equally interesting.
-
This is a good article actually because it tells us precisely where they are. They were supposed to basically begin testing the fgf9 theory in more depth on humans and see how that fared.
It has now been 364 days since they publicly said "we have been able to consistently create new follicles". In the meantime, they patented some kind of device (and all inventions stemming from this technique) to create follicles. At the same time, we found out from Desmond that the situation might not be so great, with the need for financing of $20 million for a hair cure product. That's probably what it would take to carry on with tests on fgf9.
Just speculation on my part, but if we put together all the pieces of the puzzle I think it really makes sense.
Similar Threads
-
By nickk in forum Cutting Edge / Future Treatments
Replies: 264
Last Post: 09-24-2020, 02:08 AM
-
By KeepHoping in forum Men's Hair Loss: Start Your Own Topic
Replies: 1
Last Post: 01-13-2016, 07:45 PM
-
By GreyGhost1864 in forum Cutting Edge / Future Treatments
Replies: 14
Last Post: 10-18-2013, 09:55 PM
-
By nickk in forum Cutting Edge / Future Treatments
Replies: 45
Last Post: 09-29-2013, 05:21 AM
-
By yeahyeahyeah in forum Cutting Edge / Future Treatments
Replies: 14
Last Post: 06-06-2013, 10:59 PM
Posting Permissions
- You may not post new threads
- You may not post replies
- You may not post attachments
- You may not edit your posts
Forum Rules
|
» IAHRS
» The Bald Truth
» americanhairloss.org
|
Bookmarks