"cADPR Helps Hair Growth Regardless of the Cause of Hair Loss; Next Step Is FDA Approval" [Interview with 100 Hair-Loss Experts]

[Financial News]"Hair loss can occur for many different reasons. Until now, hair-loss treatments have focused only on testosterone, one of the hormones that trigger hair loss. The newly developed cADPR is a 'fundamental' substance that helps hair grow regardless of the cause of hair loss. It took 27 years to find this substance. I am glad to see that effort bear fruit."On the 23rd, at the office of beauty startup Constant Refield in Seoul's Mapo District, Dr. Yang Mi-kyung, who developed the hair-loss-relief substance cADPR (Cyclic ADP-Ribose), was interviewed.cADPR is a substance that activates Wnt/β-catenin, a signal for hair growth.It is.
The reason Dr. Yang developed cAPDR is clear. Even hair-loss treatments used around the world could block only one cause, and there were no treatments available for hair loss caused by other factors.
He emphasized that cADPR can be "universally used for all types of hair loss" and expressed confidence that it could "help people with hair loss who have suffered because there has been no treatment until now."
— You treated cancer patients at Seoul National University Hospital for a long time. What led you to begin hair-loss research?▲ I treated patients with brain cancer and breast cancer for 15 years in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Seoul National University Hospital. During cancer treatment, I often saw patients who developed hair loss break down in tears in the clinic, saying, "My body is already hurting, and now my appearance has been ruined too." Seeing firsthand how much hair loss affects patients' quality of life made me think deeply about it. I later decided to enter hair-loss treatment, opened my own clinic in 1999, and became certified as a U.S. hair-transplant specialist. After working on hair transplants and hair-loss treatment, I realized that hair loss causes great suffering not only for cancer patients but also for ordinary people. That is why I decided to develop a new substance to relieve hair loss.— Isn't there already a hair-loss treatment used worldwide?▲ There is finasteride, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Finasteride works on the premise that testosterone, a male hormone in the body, combines with 5-alpha reductase in the scalp and turns into dihydrotestosterone, which causes hair loss.It prevents hair loss by blocking the process in which testosterone is converted into dihydrotestosterone. However, in women, hair loss often occurs when a male hormone called androstenedione, rather than testosterone, is converted into dihydrotestosterone. Even in men, once they are over 45, they are more likely to be affected by androstenedione than testosterone. As a result, many patients could not use finasteride, or did not benefit from it even when they did.This meant that a drug usable for all hair-loss symptoms was needed.That was the idea.
— After years of research, you discovered that cADPR helps follicle cells differentiate.▲ What I wanted to find was the 'first' signal involved in growth. I believed that if I could identify that, I could make hair grow better. After searching through papers from around the world, I found that when cells in our body differentiate, the Wnt/β-catenin signal must be activated. This signal refers to the process in which a Wnt protein between cells attaches to the wall of one cell, and the β-catenin protein inside that cell recognizes it as a signal and tells the cell nucleus to "differentiate." When this signal is activated in the scalp, follicle cells differentiate.
The problem was that even if cells differentiated hard, they could not produce hair unless they matured internally. It is like sowing seeds repeatedly, but only healthy seeds can sprout. While thinking about how to help cells mature, I recalled that calcium levels must be sufficient when cells differentiate.
I went back through the papers and found cADPR (Cyclic ADP-Ribose), a signaling molecule that regulates calcium levels inside cells.In the scientific community, cADPR had been regarded as a common substance needed for cellular metabolism, but I was convincedthat it was essential for the maturation of follicle cell nuclei. That conviction proved correct. In experiments using cADPR, calcium levels in follicle cells remained high, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling was activated 2.3 times more strongly. The follicle cells had gained the conditions needed to produce hair.— Are there any side effects or limitations?▲ There are no side effects. cADPR is not a newly created substance. Because the body already uses it, the skin does not recognize it as a toxic substance when it is applied. However, its effective duration is relatively short, at six hours. To maintain the effect, it must be applied four times a day. In terms of duration, that is clearly a drawback.
— It seems you succeeded in creating an environment where hair can grow. But doesn't that still leave hair shedding unchecked?▲ After discovering cADPR, there were patients who wanted to use it. Since cADPR is effective only for hair growth, I was planning to prescribe finasteride, a hair-loss treatment that is effective in preventing hair shedding. But patients who used cADPR on its ownsaid, "The amount of hair I lose every day has decreased."So I bought follicle cells from overseas and ran the experiment again. Indeed, when cADPR was injected and Wnt/β-catenin was activated, I found that DKK-1, the protein that causes hair loss, was suppressed. In other words, I had found a substance with a dual function that helps hair grow and prevents it from falling out.
As explained earlier, finasteride only prevents hair shedding. Even then, many people do not benefit from it. Among FDA-approved hair-loss treatments, there is also minoxidil, but it only helps hair growth by widening blood vessels and cannot prevent hair shedding. Finasteride and minoxidil are alike in that each has only one function.— It seems suitable as a drug. Did you make it into a cosmetic product?▲ At first, I wanted to launch a pharmaceutical product using cADPR. But I ran into practical problems. Getting drug approval takes enormous amounts of money and time.So, as a compromise, we launched it as a cosmetic product and filed patents in South Korea, the United States, and China.But after releasing it as a cosmetic, I actually thought it was the right decision. After all, its effects are being tested by a large number of consumers.— Then is your next goal to launch it as a drug?▲Launching it as a drug,andFDA approvalare also goals. But more than that, I hope cADPR will not briefly attract attention and then disappear from memory. I want it to be used not only by the next generation, but by generations after that as well. If the substance I developed can be passed down through generations and become a means of bringing joy to many people, I think nothing could be better.

kind@fnnews.com Kim Hyun-sun Reporter