Very bad news from Dr Tsuji

Just as l predicted, almost all of this is REALLY bad news

I think we can totally forget about Dr Tsuji.

My take on this news:

  1. Someone, whether it was Youngjet, Dr Tsuji himself, or RIKEN passing on misinformation to Tsuji, misled the public about what the $4.8 million was being raised for. I think it’s awful that Tsuji publicly asked for people to donate this money, without explaining clearly that it was to be used for general research into organ regeneration, not exclusively for hair loss research.

  2. If RIKEN is so huge and has so much money, why can’t they just continue to fund Dr. Tsuji’s research? Why do they need money from the public or outside investors to do this? Has RIKEN just jettisoned Dr. Tsuji? Maybe RIKEN isn’t interested in funding hair loss research because it’s considered a “cosmetic” issue and not a life-threatening illness? Funny, because RIKEN funds hundreds of exotic scientific research projects, many about extremely trivial issues, in physics, biology, engineering, computer science, etc. All you have to do is subscribe to RIKEN’s email newsletter to see that, while they do back a lot of important research, a lot of the projects they fund are just off-the-wall nonsense that’s unlikely to lead to any improvements in anyone’s lives. So, they’re basically saying here that they don’t want to put one more Yen into Dr Tsuji’s hair loss research, he’s on his own (apart from being able to associate himself with the RIKEN brand for public relations purposes, I guess).

  3. If Dr Tsuji really has something that’s ready for clinical trials now, or something that he knows will be ready for trials very soon, then he should SEEK VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDING NOW from a legitimate VC firm (in Asia, the USA, or Europe), not try to partner up with another Japanese biotech firm like the bankrupt Organ Technologies. Stemson Technologies was able to score a great partnership with a famous US Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company, Allergan, PLUS they got a venture capital investment from a British VC firm, Fortunis Capital. Stemson is a stand-alone company with a board of directors packed with the highest level biotechnology and medical experts. Does Dr Tsuji even have his own company? If so I haven’t heard of it. Looks like he’s trying to rely on others to drop in from the sky and do everything for him. Dr Terskikh made his research breakthrough at a scientific institute as well (Sanford Burnham Prebys) but he went out and started his own company. And then his company attracted big funding deals. Anyone can see Stemson’s website, their board of directors and scientific advisors are an amazingly well qualified group of people.

  4. Dr Tsuji now says he needs $8-10 MILLION MORE, in addition to not disavowing his initial request for $4.8 million - which we now know is NOT going to his hair loss research. It almost looks like he has to pay a debt to RIKEN or somebody. Does he owe Organ Technologies for their bankruptcy? Did they sue him and are they seeking some kind of restitution? Where exactly would that $4.8 million be going? (And why did Dr Tsuji just lend his name to a line of cosmetics which supposedly grow hair but actually use totally unproven ingredients??)

  5. Dr Tsuji says his human clinical trials, when they finally happen, will have ONLY TEN PATIENTS!!!

  6. Hairliciously predicts this won’t be commercially available until 2030. Tsuji says sooner without backing it up with any kind of facts or details. Who are you going to believe. Dr Tsuji or Hairliciously? I don’t believe Dr Tsuji, because he has a terrible track record about making timeline predictions about HIS OWN RESEARCH!

  7. THE PRICE IS STILL RIDICULOUS. Tsuji says that at its “mature phase” it will still cost between USD $138,000 and $184,000!