Does the FDA have any involvement in the UK? Or is there another equivalent group overseeing the trials?
And I thought I read recently that somebody, Ari I think, was going to petition the FDA for trials on the same technology in the US, is that correct? So two trials, in different countries, to test the same method?
Great news ... I just hope the Intercytex is the real thing.
Interesting that cells can be transferred from one individual to another - very different from the process that ARI is doing, in which you have to use your own cells.
I don't know. It depends on what they are trying to show. They want to assess the dosage with this phase, so I would guess that the only way to do that and make sure would be to give enough time, once again, for a full anagen/telogen/anagen (growth, rest, growth again) cycle. This could take many years, say 3 - 5.
Or they could just use the Phase I trial results to say that there is no problem with the hair growth cycle, and in these Phase II trials just assess the initial growth with the various dosages. In that case it could take only a year or so, technically.
I don't really know what "dosage" refers to, either. The amount of cells per injection?
Overall, this artricle is good news. However, you can't access it anymore, and if anyone actually read it closely, they said they will be starting trials "this month," with the article dated on April 23 or 24. So, techincally they haven't started, and as a result they can easily push back the start date to later, since, after all, there are only a few days left in April. They probably will push it back, especially considering that Intercytex often revises dates.
I'm sure they would piss off their investors if they kept revising their dates... I know I wouldn't trust a company with my stock if they kept revising their launch dates...
Just had a detailed look through the Intercytex website and financials. Given I have a background in finance (I currently work in leverage finance) I thought I'd just post my thoughts.
1. In the results presentation to investors they estimate undertaking Phase 2 in 2006, Phase 3 in 2007, and regulatory filing in 2009. I know sometimes companies will put an optimistic spin on things - especially when they want to raise capital, but given that Intercytex has already raised equity for their venture, they are more inclined to give an accurate or achievable view at this stage. The presentation can be found on their website.
2. One of the investors in Intercytex is Scottish Equity Partners. SEP is a very credible venture capital investor, which is good news for all of us.
Their investment of $2m in 2003 is also not a small figure, given that their maximum investment in any one company is $5m. This is also good news, as it basicaly means that a key investor (and also one who is very experienced) is a believer in the company. You can read SEP's investment profile in Intercytex here:
3. Company Valuation - SEP's profile identifies the company as having two main products - ICX-TRC (hair) and ICX-PRO (woundcare). SEP estimates that the markets for both products are $1.5bn and $500m annually respectively, meaning that investors are more likely to be banking on TRC than PRO. Again, this is good news for us, as it demonstrates that TRC is their flagship product and not some pipe dream.
4. As a general comment, venture capital funds typically target an investment horizon of 5-7 years and a return of 30-40% IRR. If SEP made their investment in 2003, then we can infer that they are confident of Intercytex producing a saleable product in, say, 2008-2010. I have heard some people say hair multiplication is 10 or 15 years away - note though, in my experience, no investment fund would look to investment something with a payback period greater than 10 years.
So in summary, I am pleasantly surprised about the prospect of ICX-TRC. While there are of course risks that it will all fall down, I take heart in the fact that investment funds who know the company better than all of us are believers too.
On the cautious side however, note that venture capital firms fully expect up to three quarters of their investments will fail. A huge profit from one good investment will more than make up for losses on three bad investments.
Aderans (ARI) on the other hand, has very little information on its website apart from the usual marketing spin. The parent company website is all in Japanese, so I can't read anything there.
No, I don't understand. Are you saying hair multiplication would cost between $100,000-$200,000?
I doubt that.
Body hair multiplication? Why would you do that?
Body hair transplantation to the scalp yields poor results... I don't think that people will be investing large amount of money to get that done anywhere in the next 5+ years.
Another benefit of HM will be that hair transplant will come down in price. HM and hair transplant will compete for customers. HM will pull many of the wealther consumers away from hair transplant, forcing hair transplant to compete for less affluent clients, causing their prices to drop. The reverse works as well. They will both help keep each other in check. Plus, there is the likely event that non-surgical options will become more effective, putting pressure on both hair transplant and HM's prices.
its more than likely HM will be cheaper than hair transplant from day one considering the process involved. 100,000 to 200,000 is absolutely ridiculous, 20,000 is still on the verge of pricing yourself out of the marker.
they will have to give an average price that people will pay, i assume $20g's but could be way off, one can only hope. why are all companys that scam people allways cost around the same $7000-$10000... its a price that people are willing to pay.