Pfizer discontinue alopecia drugs

Stem cell; cell based hair therapy
1

Some of you may know that Pfizer had two drugs in their pipeline for alopecia, one in phase 1 and another in phase 2. Both are now gone.

http://media.pfizer.com/files/research/pipeline/2008_0228/pipeline_2008_0228.pdf

Seems like every new treatment for hair growth ends up like this doesn´t it? And soon we will know if Neosil and Intercytex will suffer the same faith.

2

They discontinued UK-157147 that was in phase 2 trials.

They discontinued PF-277243 and PF-3004459 that were in Phase 1 trials.

My take-------------they had stumbled onto some compounds that they were studying for other things that had a hypertrichotic side effect. They knew they were safe, because they were “in” other drugs, so they made little derivatives of them and had human tests…and found that they were no more effective than existing stuff (minoxidil) or worked by pretty much the same mechanisms (opening potassium channels, sulfanyl recptor blockage that inhibtis tgf-beta to some extent, ups some interleukin or whatever). What they had wasn’t good enough to justify the expensive phase three trial in all likelihood. A company like phfizer wouldn’t even let an indication get into human testing if it didn’t show promise in some lab rat.

Now, to my knowledge, AJCS-9, is the only thing other than Dutasteride (in Korea in phase 2 trials for baldness now) that is being testing medically as a “treatment” for alopecia in the “drug” sense. Its ICX, Follica, or NOTHING guys.

That AJCS-9 should be very good for keeping what you have. It does seem to be one hell of a side-effect free anti-androgen as curcumin was as effective as gamma linolenic acid was in hamster flank organ tests as an anti-androgen. If it really is side-effect free, doesnt get absorbed in the bloodstream, and doesnt smell like curry sauce or stain your scalp yellow as curcumin does (they say it doesnt), it would be a good way to fight further baldness anyway.

Like I said…within the next year or two we will know if we will be getting lost hair back, or whether it would be best just to forget about it because it will be a wait until gene therapy (decade or two at least). There is nothing else coming down the pike in hair in the near term other than what we have now that I know of. No research, nada…

3

they stopped the research to save money because i think they know how different is an HM, and maybe how near to the commerce is, in confront to the products that they are studyng… if i’m studyng a lotion, and i know that in 2 years this product become useless, i stop to study this to save my money… i think the reason is this…

4

» they stopped the research to save money because i think they know how
» different is an HM, and maybe how near to the commerce is, in confront to
» the products that they are studyng… if i’m studyng a lotion, and i know
» that in 2 years this product become useless, i stop to study this to save
» my money… i think the reason is this…

That is what you are hoping and wishing is the reason. Im hoping and wishing the same thing, but realize that they probably quit because what they were developing wasn’t going to be much better than what is out there now if even that good, so that backed off it. Its highly doubtful that they know anymore about ICX, Aderans, or Follica’s research other than what those entities have been willing to release to us as of yet, and its unlikely that they quit due to HM research until HM has a very successful human trial with drammatic increases in hair.

Curis for instance, backed off recently because of safety concerns of consistent topical activation of the sonic hedgehog pathway and worries that the pathway would be cancerous if left activated time and again. It didn’t have anything to do with HM science or Follica (Follica wasn’t even around then).

5

» Now, to my knowledge, AJCS-9, is the only thing other than Dutasteride (in
» Korea in phase 2 trials for baldness now) that is being testing medically
» as a “treatment” for alopecia in the “drug” sense. Its ICX, Follica, or
» NOTHING guys.

Exactly!..we now have only 3 options left(as we know). From their news it seems like ASCJ-9 is quite effective. The worst case scenario that I’m ready for is that the ICX/Follica regrow our DHT sensitive hair and then we’d have to rely on ASCJ-9 to keep the regrowth. However, I do wish that ICX/Follica regrow permanent hair - so we’re done with this crap once and for all!

Btw, benji what do you think about scalp inflammation…you think regrowing new hair from ICX/Follica will get rid of the itching and stuff??

6

microinflammation downstream of androgen uptake in predisposed follicles seems to be at the heart of what goes on in androgenic alopecia.

balding hairs lose some cd200 cells that cluster around them that tell the immune system to “move along, there is nothing happening here”, and the immune system seems to attack the predisposed hairs. Prostaglandin D2 is severely upregulated in balding scalp and there is a prostaglandin D2 receptor on hair follicles. Cotsarialis showed that by simply administering PGD2 topically to mice, he could keep their hair from going back into growth phase after their first shed for a long period of time…

Nobody knows precisely whey the immune system inflames the follicles. DKK-1 is severely upreged in balding follicles as is TGF-beta.

Im MERELY hoping follica will be lucky in the donor area and make MORE donor area-like hair that makes less alpha five reductase enzymes in their individual root sheaths and have less androgen recpeptor expression on their dermal papillas than hair in the front. Experiments show that hair on the back and sides of the head succumb to androgens if they are SOAKED in them ENOUGH. Even plain testosterone can dose dependently kill this hair. I think the “difference” in hair is that hair on the top of the head and in the front, for some reason, have too active alpha-five reductase enzymes in their outer root sheaths over time and overexpress androgens receptors over time in ensuing cycles…and “somehow” they change their response to male hormone from neutral to bad. Im hoping the hair Follica can make in the back can be transplanted to the front or to re-thicken the back after transplantion. It would be nice if the hair they make up front was this way…but I realize thats pushing my luck.

Im hoping ICX can simply impregnante existing hair with donor-area genetic expression characteristics and/or make brand new hairs. I want whatever works, despite it being unelegant and all of that.

We will soon see. Im as psyched and amped about the 18th of this month as anybody is believe me. Im dissapointed in Aderans…they OWE the public and the investors and potential investors some kind of UPDATE (I email them and dont get squat back) about what they are up to whether it be tissue scaffolds outside the body or whatever. I mean goddammitt their latest update on their site was some bullshit PR-induced article from a nit-wit journalist back in 2006.

It really does appear that its ICX, Follica or zilch. Ive not looked into Phoenixbio or Shishedo in a long time. I dont even know if their websistes have a non-japanese text or not.

7

» they stopped the research to save money because i think they know how
» different is an HM, and maybe how near to the commerce is, in confront to
» the products that they are studyng… if i’m studyng a lotion, and i know
» that in 2 years this product become useless, i stop to study this to save
» my money… i think the reason is this…

That’s really naive man…

8

I’m kinda uninformed about all the official & unofficial names for every treatment in the development pipeline.

So does this mean NEOSH101 is a goner now?

9

» Now, to my knowledge, AJCS-9, is the only thing other than Dutasteride (in
» Korea in phase 2 trials for baldness now) that is being testing medically
» as a “treatment” for alopecia in the “drug” sense. Its ICX, Follica, or
» NOTHING guys.

Benji, what is AJCS-9? I’ve seen references to it, but I haven’t been able to find out any info. What is your take on NEOSH 101?

10

Does anyone know when Neosil will release their results?

11

I can speak for ASC-J9 a little.

It’s basically a synthetic form of super-strength curcumin. Rather than trying to lower the amounts of circulating androgenic hormones themselves, this stuff would whack the skin’s androgen receptors.

I think the skin replaces androgen receptors every few days, but you’d just keep using the stuff to keep hitting the AR’s regularly. The drug is supposed to be non-systemic and you’d end up with only scalp area effects.

The body normally responds to reduced androgens (Fin/Dut, RU, Spiro, etc) by increasing the number of androgen receptors out there to pick up the signals. This issue waters down the effects of all the current anti-androgens.

But if you combined a badass topical anti-androgen (like RU) with an AR-killer like ASC-J9 . . . you’d theoretically be taking a lot of DHT out of the scalp, while simultaneously causing a major reduction in your body’s only method of compensating for the lowered DHT. I personally suspect that the net result of this combo would probably be greater than the sum of its parts.

12

» I can speak for ASC-J9 a little.
»
»
» It’s basically a synthetic form of super-strength curcumin. Rather than
» trying to lower the amounts of circulating androgenic hormones themselves,
» this stuff would whack the skin’s androgen receptors.
»
» I think the skin replaces androgen receptors every few days, but you’d
» just keep using the stuff to keep hitting the AR’s regularly. The drug is
» supposed to be non-systemic and you’d end up with only scalp area effects.
»
»
»
»
» The body normally responds to reduced androgens (Fin/Dut, RU, Spiro, etc)
» by increasing the number of androgen receptors out there to pick up the
» signals. This issue waters down the effects of all the current
» anti-androgens.
»
» But if you combined a badass topical anti-androgen (like RU) with an
» AR-killer like ASC-J9 . . . you’d theoretically be taking a lot of DHT out
» of the scalp, while simultaneously causing a major reduction in your body’s
» only method of compensating for the lowered DHT. I personally suspect that
» the net result of this combo would probably be greater than the sum of its
» parts.

So, without a topical AA, its not as useful?

13

Those to canceled drugs by PFE weren’t really novel. One was thyroid compound and the other an anti-androgen. There is other stuff that is far more promising and advanced and if PFE spent all the money and the years in trials they wouldn’t sell any of the product.

14

ASC-J9 would still be useful without a topical AA. It’s still cutting down the skin’s ability to feel the androgens circulating in it.

Think of it this way:

If the androgen hormones in the follicles & bloodstream are the sugar in your food/drinks, then the androgen receptors are the taste buds on your tongue & mouth surfaces that sense the sugar.

So let’s say you hate the taste of sugar, and you’re trying to reduce how much sugar you can taste when you eat something (reducing the DHT damage to your hair follicles).

Removing sugar from your food supply (anti-androgens) is good just by itself. But unfortunately, if you deny your taste buds sugar, they will compensate by growing more sensitive to smaller & smaller amounts of sugar. So cutting down the effectiveness of your taste buds (ASC-J9) is also a good idea just by itself. And doing both of those things at once would be REALLY effective.

The other beautiful thing about ASC-J9 is that the levels of “sugar” (androgens) are not actually being altered by the removal of the taste buds that sense the sugar inside your mouth. Th squashing the “taste buds” with ASC-J9 will not have any negative effects on your sugar(androgen) levels in the food/drink that reaches your stomach & the rest of your body . . .

. . . which, in English, means that neither your man-boobs nor your dick will be affected by ASC-J9.

If everything stays according to plan, there will be no hormonal effects other than the skin where it’s applied.