According to this article
I only perused the story but I did not see mention that trials will start in 18 months.
It says:
“Stemson Therapeutics recently partnered with the pharmaceutical giant Allergan to develop this scaffold for cloned hair, and Hamilton says they expect to start a clinical trial in humans in about a year and a half.”
I’m actually optimistic about this…which is surprising considering all the past disappointments. 
The part that concerns me is this:
“Creating new hair for a person, follicle by follicle, in bespoke 3-D printed scaffolds, stands to be exorbitantly expensive.”
I’m anxious to find out what “exorbitantly expensive” actually equates to in dollars. $15 a follicle? $30? More? Just 1500 2-hair follicles would make a dramatic difference to me, but I wouldn’t pay $45,000 for 1500 follicles. Would I pay $22,500? Probably, but it would sting quite a bit to pay so much for something that doesn’t permanently solve my hairloss problem.
I found it. Thanks. It says “About a year and a half” I think the word “about” means it could be somewhat sooner or somewhat later. In any case, I think the news that Stemson could start human trials in about 18 months could get Tsuji to speed up. Do you?
Maybe but I think the main issue for Tsuji is the Japanese government. I know they have expedited clinical trials but when the rubber hits the road that could mean a lot of things.
I wouldn’t pay $45,000 for 1500 follicles. Would I pay $22,500? Probably
I can’t comment on your case, but a lot of guys have enough donor hair to get a conventional 1500-follicle hair transplant for much less than §22,500, so I don’t think they would be able to sell their product if it’s that expensive. (It’s no use to them to put it on the market at a price that no one can afford.)
You’re right. In my case, though, I’m a few HTs down the road already and I started before the techniques were as good as they are now. I don’t have the 1500 follicles available to move and I will need them “created out of thin air.” I’m sure there are lots of men in my shoes.
And consider this: Dr. Cole charges (last time I checked) $12 per follicular unit to transplant body hair and the same for his unshaven procedure, and men pay it.
Since the average new mid-sized car is probably more expensive that $22,500, guys would spend that much money for hair - and they might go back every 5 or 6 years just like they do with their cars.
I hope the procedure isn’t nearly this expensive, but we’ll see.