Intercytex is pursuing development of a rejuvenation therapy near and dear to the hearts of hundreds of millons of men the world over. Hair follicles can be removed, replicated in culture, and then reimplanted to eliminate baldness.
Intercytex has successfully tested a method of removing hair follicles from the back of the neck, multiplying them and then reimplanting the cells.
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The treatment was initially tested on seven men with male pattern baldness, five of whom grew hair, and is now being tested on a further 20.
During a 30-minute operation, hair follicles are taken from the back of the neck, then grown in culture until they number in the thousands.
They are then injected under the skin where the hair needs to grow back.
They expect the therapy to work against male pattern baldness due to dihydrotestosterone and also alopecia in women.
They now plan to automate the process to get the costs down.
Cambridge, UK, 6th October 2006 – Intercytex (LSE: ICX) and its partner, The Automation Partnership (TAP), announce today that they have been awarded a £1.85 million grant by the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Technology Programme to develop an automated manufacturing process for ICX-TRC, Intercytex’ novel hair regeneration therapy. Intercytex is a leading cell therapy company developing products to restore and regenerate skin and hair and The Automation Partnership is a private company specialising in the automation of life science processes.
The grant will be used primarily to develop a dedicated robotic system to support the commercial-scale production of dermal papilla (DP) cells, the main cells involved in hair regeneration and the key component of ICX-TRC.
The Intercytex approach to hair regeneration centres on extracting an individual’s DP cells from a small hair follicle biopsy at the back of the head, multiplying the cells in a proprietary aseptic culture system and then re-implanting the cells back in the head to induce new hairs. It is vital that each patient’s cells remain isolated throughout the multiplication process.
Since the treatment of hair loss is optional and typically paid for by the individual the cost is an important consideration. So robotic automation to get the cost down makes sense.
I am convinced that rejuvenation therapies that improve outward appearances will hit the market much more rapidly than therapies that make inner organs young again. There are at least four reasons for that. First and most obviously, the skin and hair follicles are easier to reach. Second, people care (however unwisely) more about their outsides than the age of their livers or kidneys. They want to look young and that desire is pretty intense. Third, at least in the United States plastic surgery therapies do not appear to be as tightly regulated as most therapies. Fourth, people spend their own money on plastic surgery and other appearance enhancing therapies. Conservative insurance company rules for which therapies are legitimate do not hold back the introduction of new therapies.
Another area of human enhancement with biotechnology where I expect a lot of early action is with athletic enhancement. But the prospects there are not as good because for many athletes the use of such therapies must be kept secret. Most professional and amateur sports associations do not want athletes enhancing their performance with biotechnological treatments such as gene therapies. Governments tend to side against athletic enhancement too.
The widespead bans on gene therapies and other biotech therapies for athletes is unfortunate for those who want rejuvenation therapies. If gene therapies, cell therapies, and other cutting edge therapies were allowed by sports associations then the incentive to develop them would be much greater and we'd get those therapies sooner. Many of the therapies that would help athletes would also help aging bodies. A treatment that enhances muscle growth? Old folks suffer from atrophying muscles. A therapy that enhances circulation? Old folks suffer from poor circulation too.
By Randall Parker at 2006 October 08 02:53 PM Aging Reversal | TrackBackAny idea of the cost ($1000? $100?), or how often one must do it?
Why do guys fret so much over their hair? I am a 6'3" man, broad-shouldered, square-jawed, and have a thick head of hair. Most women consider me handsome. However, I am not terribly glib. And more importantly, I do not drive around in an ostentatiously expensive car. Ah, thats where I've gone wrong. Its been my experience that its the appearance of being wealthy that attracts women.
Face it guys, you'd be better off investing the money you'd spend on the silly hair restoration crap in a down payment on a Lexus. If you're that desperate to attract babes.
Uwi,
I want the men to spend money on cell therapies because their demand for cell therapies will accelerate biotechnology and also lead to cures for diseases. Their demand for a Lexus or a Corvette will not do that.
Baldness matters more depending on how old one is, how old one's targets are, and how masculine one is. Very manly men can be bald and do ok.
But as Uwi pointed out, women have so many criteria that even missing one kills. Very few romantic leads are bald. The one's that are, are notable, and the got famous when they had hair.
Bald isn't poverty, it's more like the male equivalent of a woman having very small breasts. It usually doesn't help. And the people with the trait outnumber the people who like or are indifferent to it.
Also, when money can buy hair, bald will be a mark of poverty, it is getting there now, with moderately effective treatments. Especially because effectiveness depends on starting very early in the balding process.
No one has noticed women getting less shallow, The way to bet is that they are getting more. Baldness probably became common because men who went bald at say, 30 or 40, were less attractive to women and focused their resources on their existing kids. It makes men dads, not cad. Women can make enough to feed themselves and have kids. Marriages end in divorce half the time, and huge numbers of children are born to short term relationships. Our genes can feel which way the trends are blowing: women do not want sons who are poor womanizers. In evolution, I think it's actually called the sexy son effect.
Think this way: even if you don't mind hairy women, do you want your daughters to be hairy? Despotic fashions.
Rob-ot:
I think I see your point. As our society becomes more complex, women's criteria in selecting mates becomes more complex as well. That can't be good, as many of us have spent far too much time, money and mental energy tring to make sense of women as it is. lol
hmm. from an evolutionary biology point of view one would think that high testosterone = more DHT in the bloodstream = earlier baldness. And if high testosterone is associated with more virility and more aggressive hunter-gatherer type behavior then given evolutionary time lag men with balding pates should be the default ideal provider / mate / attractive physical type. Then again in my observation of evolving societies, young females tend to have relationships with two men at the same time; usually an older provider type (The Payer) where physical appearance is not an issue, and a younger type (The Chopper) who is usually physically attractive and hirsute. A very depressing scenario for the 'provider' and a free ride for the 'chopper'. Anyone familiar with Liberian society will instantly know what I am talking about.