Starting tomorrow (Jan 28, 2008) you will be able to purchase medicinal marijuana through a vending machine (in the Los Angeles area). Well, you can purchase it, only if you have a prescription from your doctor, and then go through the process of getting finger printed, and getting a prepaid credit card- that holds all of your pertinent information (including how much, and the certain strain you require). You will be able to buy up to 1 oz per week!
OK I know this sounds cutting edge and impressive, but what else is in the works are vending machines …read more

A man, who lives in the south-western part of Germany has been trying to have the costs of his “wigs” covered by his health insurance provider. He believes that his insurance should pay for them because he has had hair-loss problems since childhood.
His claims have been denied. The insurance company states:
The hair’s protective function against the sun and the cold can easily be replaced by a hat. The health insurance does not have to pay for that.
The insurance company will provide hair coverage for women and children. You should note that health insurance in Germany, will cover …read more

I am cleaning my house today….giving everything a real good clean – before the repair people come in a day or two. I have been going through everything, and throwing things out. I just found 3 phone books from 2007 (city directory and yellow pages x 2) and on each one, they have glued coupons for complimentary consultations for hair restoration surgery.
First of all, not everyone has a problem with their baldness. Promotions like this are designed to make us feel bad about the amount of hair we have (or don’t have) on our heads. I …read more

Big news people!  Follica, a new company specializing in treating androgenetic alopecia has just secured $5.5M in venture funding from Intrawest Partners and PureTech Ventures.
Follica Inc,  a company based in Boston, plans to use the money to start a proof of concept study.  With this new funding,  they are planning to generate new hair follicles.
An interesting note on this is that the co-founder on Follica Inc is Dr Rox Anderson, who is credited with advancing the science in laser hair removal.
Just a little ironic, don’t you think?

Here’s a nice YouTube video on Advanced Hair Studio, which has come under fire of late for it’s misleading advertising claims. The clip – about 10 minutes long – if from a BBC program (or should I say “programme?”) and takes the form of investigative, hidden-camera journalism .

h/t – Balding Blog

The HeadlineIt! originally featured on the ABC show “American Inventor” is almost ready for sale. It’s taken a little longer than anticipated; earlier projections estimated a winter 2007 release. Nevertheless, the online store is taking pre-orders now. Negotiations to bring the product to local brick-and-mortar retailers are still in the works.
source | image

I normally comb through Dr. Rassman’s Q & As from Balding Blog on a semi-weekly basis, compiling a few that catch my eye into a semi-themed post. This question however, strikes me as worth standing on it’s own. It’s not something I’ve ever looked at here at Baldiness, but it’s got my curiosity up.
Pursuing a Career in the Field of Hair Loss
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It’s a bumper month for companies doing research in the hair restoration arena. First Intercytex, then IGI, now Neosil.
Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. has announced $10 million dollars in debt funding to Neosil.
“Hercules was particularly impressed with Neosil’s product pipeline and scope of therapeutics in development for an early stage pharmaceutical company,” said Kathy Conte, managing director of life sciences at Hercules. “We believe that the broad range of application and consumer driven need for both of Neosil’s current products will provide a number of opportunities for success within the industry.” (source)
Back in January, Neosil announced positive phase 2a clinical …read more

More real medical news…
From the press release:
IGI, INC. announced that it has received, a Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant from the National Cancer Institute to evaluate the safety and therapeutic potential of parathyroid hormone PTH (7-34) analog to treat alopecia induced by chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.
In previous animal testing, IGI “successfully formulated PTH 7-34 into its proprietary Novasome encapsulation technology, and the treatment both stimulated and maintained hair growth in mice. This next round of testing will be performed on human subjects under the oversight of Dr. Michael Holick at Boston University.

From the press release:
BioLife Solutions Inc. , a leading developer and marketer of proprietary hypothermic storage and cryopreservation media products for cells and tissues, today announced a supply and licensing agreement with Intercytex Group plc, a Cambridge, UK, and Boston-based cell therapy company.
The agreement lasts 10 years and covers permits Intercytex access to the HypoThermosol storage and preservation media for both VAVELTA (ICX-RHY), the facial rejuvenation product, which is expected to hit the market soon, as well as ICX-TRC, the hair regeneration product still under development.
Intercytex Chief Executive Nick Higgins said:
“We completed a thorough evaluation of several commercial and generic …read more