Minoxidil

We failed because the research hasn't kept up with the disease, that there are future treatments that can prevent this that perhaps haven't been discovered or are still in phase trials.

So the most popular things out there would be like Propecia, Finasteride, Minoxidil, Topical Rogaine and Minoxidil like probably first step that people can get over the counter.

Should we be switching over to more oral minoxidil? There's been a trend lately.

Yeah, so that's a great point, Kay, because a lot of patients will say to me, I'm not going to take minoxidil, that pill, because I tried the topical and it didn't work.

... as well.

I mix it with Rogaine, which there are clinical studies on GHK-Cu and mixing with Rogaine and how that has helped men's hair growth.

I found that clinical study, read it, and said, "I got a little bald spot.

I'm gonna tone it up a little bit," in add- in addition to injecting it subcutaneously for collagen production throughout my body.

That's a great question.

And I think it goes back to looking at the commercial success of the only two approved products, right, Propecia or finasteride and Rogaine.

And that so much of how investment in the pharmaceutical landscape is made is based on prior success.

That there's a belief that a market exists, that there's an ability to generate sufficient revenue to justify the extensive expenditures that go on during clinical development and during development in general.

And if you look back to Rogaine, while it's currently across its genericized brand, doing about a billion dollars in revenue.

At the time at which it was launched, it topped out somewhere under $200 million, which was a financial disaster for Upjohn Pharmacy at the time, and ultimately was something that really, I think, shocked the hair world.

Propecia similarly topped out as a male-only drug at about $600 million in annual revenue adjusted for inflation.

So is that what you're thinking in terms of varidermics specifically for this hair loss medication that you're developing at the moment?

There are blood tests that matter here, thyroid function, iron and ferritin levels, androgens, and there are interventions with actual evidence behind them.

Minoxidil has the most robust data.

Spironolactone is used off label for the androgen component.

Some women respond to HRT.

I wasn't super consistent with it.

Now Rogaine Minoxidil topically is FDA approved for hair loss and it is a great product and yes, it does work.

But here's the thing.

You have to be consistent with it.