Cellmid patents hair growth factor technology

IP Australia has issued Cellmid with patent number 2011220326, which has been registered under the title ‘Method of treatment or prevention of hair loss or for the enhancement of hair growth’.

The company says that it registered the patent because it wants to protect the technology, which has been developed using midkine growth factor and the closely related protein pleiotrophin to treat hair loss and regrowth.

The patent was granted for use in topical treatments, which will include shampoos, conditioners, creams and lotions, and builds on the first patent granted in the UK.

Targeting global reach for the technology​

The company says it now wants to build a worldwide registration for the patent, and accordingly there are a number of patents currently under examination in the US and Europe, while in Asia patents are being considered in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.

The patents add to Cellmid’s growing anti-ageing hair growth business, which operates under the trading name Advangen, and now includes an extensive range of patent-protected products developed around the company’s FGF5 inhibiting technologies.

The company’s products are currently on sale in Australia, Japan and China, and the country is now looking to expand the distribution further in Asia, as well as in the USA, South America and Europe.

Growth of the Advangen brand​

The Advangen brand is tapping into the one of the fastest growing categories in the cosmetics and personal care business – the market for anti-ageing hair care products.

Currently this category is valued at $90 billion and is said to be recording double digit annual growth on the back of increasingly sophisticated and effective products that are tapping into biologically active formulations.

Focusing on this scientifically advanced anti-ageing hair care formulation trend, midkine is a growth factor that is highly expressed during embryonic development and is also known to modulate important biological interactions, such as cell growth, migration and adherence.