New Company: Triple Hair

Follicle Thought is pleased to present an exclusive look at a newcomer in the hair loss treatment industry, Triple Hair of Canada.

Triple Hair’s Story

Triple Hair was founded by Dr. Houfar Sekhavat, an opthalmologist based in Moncton, Canada. It was Dr. Sekhavat’s own experience with androgenic alopecia which lead him to seek out a superior formulation for preventing hair loss and regrowing hair. After reviewing scientific literature on the subject, Dr. Sekhavat teamed up a local pharmacist, Dr. Ford, to test a new topical formulation using two of the well known anti-hair loss drugs and a third that was more obscure. After testing different concentrations and combinations, the team identified “TH07” as the ideal formula.

I recently caught up with the Triple Hair team to get more information on the molecules used in TH07 (which have not been disclosed online until now) and other company endeavors. Below, I will take a deeper look at the Triple Hair company including some Q&A’s I completed with them.

Triple Hair TH07, TH16, & More

FT: Can you tell us more about the 3 drugs in TH07 and how the company

chose them for the formula?

Triple Hair: There are over 80 million people suffering from hair loss in the United States and androgenetic alopecia accounts for greater than 90% of hair loss incidents. Androgenic Alopecia is a multifactorial disease and no single molecule can address the different pathways involved in the etiology, which is primarily due to hormone metabolism and excessive response to androgens. Therefore, the androgen receptor remains an important target for a safe and effective treatment.

The motivation behind Triple Hair is to redefine the market by launching the first new treatment for alopecia in over 40 years with TH07. Demonstrating the efficacy and safety profile in a phase 3 clinical trial will drive significant uptake of TH07 and fill a large unmet need for patients.

Scientific Rationale and Synergies

Topical finasteride provides localized treatment for hair loss with reduced systemic adverse events. Many studies have shown similar therapeutic effects when compared to the 1mg tablet form. Finasteride decreases dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and upregulates SULT1A1 which activates the pro-drug of minoxidil into its active form – minoxidil sulfate.

Minoxidil is a potassium channel blocker that was initially developed for the treatment of hypertension. Hypertrichosis was noted as a side effect of treatment and the product was repurposed as a hair loss therapy. It acts by widening the blood vessels which allows more oxygen, blood and nutrients to follicles thus promoting the anagen phase. Minoxidil increases prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which increases prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2a).

PGF2a analogues have shown positive stimulatory effects on hair follicles and also stimulate conversion from telogen to anagen phase within 7 days. Furthermore, PGF2a analogues increase insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which inhibits hair cell apoptosis and maintains the anagen phase. TH07 contains a patented topical formulation of minoxidil, finasteride and a PGF2a analogue. We have completed a proof of concept phase two clinical trial which showed the overall treatment effect of TH07 was 100% of patients experienced hair regrowth versus 50% regrowth for finasteride versus 25% regrowth for minoxidil. The results are summarized in the tables below:

TH07 Before And After Images

6 month result

6 month result, different man from the first photo. Significant regrowth.

6 month result

Triple Hair is also developing a formula called TH16 which is planned to launch as a natural consumer product into the Canadian marketplace in Q1 2021. The product consists of two natural ingredients. A randomized, double blind clinical trial showed that the overall treatment effect of TH16 was better than the comparative monotherapies. The results are shown in the table below:

TH16 Before And After Images

6 month result

3 month result

3 month result

FT: I read on your website about one of the Triple Hair products making

hair appear a bit darker, can you elaborate on this?

Triple Hair: The darkening of hair was an observation from our phase 2 clinical trial, is likely due to the PGF2a analogue in our formulation and the synergistic effects of minoxidil and finasteride. The manifestation of PGF2a analogues includes increased hair growth and pigmentation.

FT: Ideally, when will TH07 be approved for marketing in Canada and US?

Triple Hair: We are planning to begin a pivotal phase 3 study in Q3 2021 and are actively seeking partnerships with big pharma for the global launch of the product. (Editor’s note: If a phase 3 were to begin in Q3 2021, an estimated market release is in the range of Q2 2023.)

Potential industry partners may contact Triple Hair’s VP of Business Development Attila Hajdu – ahajdu@triplehair.ca

Commentary And Links

For those of you looking for more information on PGF2a analogues, a quick visit to Wikipedia will reveal that two examples of these drugs are Latanoprost and Bimatoprost. Both have been used experimentally for hair loss in the past, with Bimatoprost even entering major hair growth clinical trials with Allergan. We can be almost certain that the third ingredient in TH07 is either Bimatoprost or Latanoprost, with a slight edge to Bimatoprost.

While the new flagship drug of Triple Hair contains ingredients we have seen before, the idea of combining them and using them synergistically in a topical formula is progressive and commendable. The concept of combining known ingredients is natural and thankfully this startup has taken the initiative to actually get it done.

A point I would like to emphasize here is I believe Triple Hair is setting an important example to the industry and I hope others will take note. Pattern hair loss has proven to be difficult to treat and it is unlikely that any single molecule will produce significant hair loss prevention / hair regrowth on its own. We can see in the photos that TH07 is capable of some worthwhile regrowth. The idea of combining multiple molecules that act on different mechanisms makes a lot of sense and I believe the future of hair growth medicines will be based on combination formulas.

An interesting bonus tidbit about Triple Hair, the company has two other molecules in its pipeline – “TH0c” and “THcb1”. TH0c has even completed a phase 1 study. A corporate presentation of Triple Hair from March 2020 is available here. I hope you’ve all enjoyed this article and feel free to leave your feedback below.

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