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	Dr. Richard Lee, MD

Dr. Lee is the founder and owner of Regrowth LLC, a company based in Los Angeles and dedicated to the treatment of hair loss. He has been developing innovative products and treating hair loss sufferers for the past 16 years. Dr. Lee is the creator of the Xandrox line of hair loss treatments.

Important Note: Due a busy schedule, Dr. Lee cannot answer any new questions at this time; however, he will be providing high quality answers to questions he receives from his own practice exclusively to Morphollica.com regularly

	Question Asked By

anonymous
2005-12-20

	Question Topic

What is Curis?

	Question

What is Curis?

	Answer

Curis, Inc. is a therapeutic drug development company. In September 2005, Curis announced the publication of data reporting on the therapeutic efficacy of one of Curis' proprietary Hedgehog pathway activators in an adult animal model of hair growth. The results of the study show that a topically applied small molecule agonist of the Hedgehog signaling pathway can stimulate the transition of hair follicles from the resting (telogen) to the growth (anagen) stage of the hair cycle. The Hedgehog signaling pathway is a complex network of proteins that cells use to communicate by acting as molecular switches. These results were published in the Journal of Investigational Dermatology and expanded on those that were presented at the February 2005 Annual Meeting of The American Academy of Dermatology.

Also in September 2005, Curis entered into an exclusive worldwide research and development agreement with Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, a division of The Procter & Gamble Company, to evaluate and develop potential treatments for hair growth regulation utilizing Curis' Hedgehog agonist technology.

This is potentially very exciting news. Curis hopes that the Hedgehog pathway activator will work wonders on thinning scalps of both males and females. Hedgehog signaling appears to prompt the body’s multi-talented stem cells to proliferate around the hair follicles, initiating hair growth. To date, all FDA proven and approved medical treatments for pattern hair loss consist of either topical minoxidil as a non-specific promoter of hair growth or agents to decrease the amount and/or action of DHT in the scalp. Treatment with a drug derived from Hedgehog molecular signaling, which acts on the stimulation of the follicular stem cells, has the potential of being much more potent than the current treatments, which mainly aim to increase the size of the hair follicles which have already miniaturized.

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