A drug company developing a new hair loss treatment has seen the product stall after they became involved in a law suit. Histogen, who develop experimental drugs, have created a medication called Hair Stimulating Complex but are currently being sued by another company SkinMedica, who claim that Histogen are using their trade secrets.

SkinMedica previously bought a drug from Advanced Tissue Sciences called  Nouricel. At the time, Gail Naughton was the founder of ATS. The suit alleges that when she left the company to found Histogen, she took with her colleagues who had trade secrets about SkinMedica’s newly purchased hair loss remedy.

Histagen are now eagerly awaiting a ruling from a federal judge in South Carolina, crucial to their future. When SkinMedica first launched the law suit many of the investors in Histogen panicked and withdrew their money from the company.  They lost $2.4 million when a group of angel investors withdrew and Histogen were forced to lay off 36 employees.

The news of the law suit came just as Histogen were getting ready to release early-stage results from clinical trials to see how 24 men with male-pattern baldness responded to the hair loss remedy. They are still hopeful that if they are successful in the courts they will be able to begin a larger trial of the drug in Singapore.

The product, previously known as Regenica, is given as a single injection.  It is a liquid that uses the culturing of newborn fibroblasts, cells that form the basis of connective tissues,  which are then harvested for their naturally secreted growth factors and proteins to stop hair loss.

Currently there is only one medication that has been clinically proven to stop hair loss and is available with a doctor’s prescription, Propecia. Propecia works by halting the production of dihydratestosterone, which attacks the hair follicles on the scalp and therefore causes baldness. There is also a hair loss remedy called Regaine, which is available over the counter.

As there are relatively few hair loss remedies that are proven to stop hair loss, if Histagen win the law suit and further clinical trials are successful, they stand to make a considerable amount from the Hair Stimulating Complex.

It is estimated that 35 million men in the U.S alone suffer from hair loss and surveys have shown that male-pattern baldness and impact considerably on men’s happiness and self esteem. Over recent years, hair transplants have become one of the most popular forms of cosmetic surgery, so a cheaper and less invasive solution would certainly be of interest to consumers.