The same drug that has helped countless Eugene Latisse users grow long, luscious lashes, is reportedly being used in a new hair loss treatment product developed by Allergan that is set to begin FDA trials this month.
According to hair restoration specialist Dr. Alan Bauman, Latisse, which contains only a small amount of the active ingredient responsible for stimulating eyelash growth, has already been used off-label by some and produced “modest hair growth” along the scalp.
Given Latisse’s overwhelming success in promoting eyelash growth and the product label’s warning that it can cause hair growth on other parts of the body that come in contact with the drug, it’s no surprise that Allergan created a product purposed to do just that.
Information on the FDA Clinical Trials website indicates that the Phase One trials for the hair-growth drug will focus on testing the safety of two formulations of bimatoprost, which is the active ingredient that composes only 0.03% of Latisse.
Dr. Bauman suggested that Allergan’s new hair loss treatment will likely use a higher concentration of bimatoprost, however the exact amounts contained in the drug being tested are not yet known.
Phase One trials are designed only to test the safety of the drug, so consumers will have to wait until Phase Two and Phase Three of testing are complete before any proven indication of the effectiveness of the hair loss treatment are known. But if the effectiveness of Latisse for eyelash growth is any indication, a higher concentration of bimatoprost is likely to stimulate hair growth on the scalp.
A new treatment for baldness would be a welcome advancement for the estimated 60-100 million Americans suffering from alopecia or thinning hair, as only a handful of other drugs have been approved for hair restoration.
“…bimatoprost could become the third FDA-approved drug for the treatment of baldness in men and only the second FDA-approved drug for women with hereditary hair thinning or female pattern baldness,” according to Dr. Bauman.
