Ukmedix has recieved news that Merck the manufacturers of the hair loss drug Propecia have applied for the Topical Finasteride application. Finasteride that is the active ingredient in Propecia is at present taken in the form of a pill daily and is thus ingested internally. The new patent application asks for the United States Patent Office to recognise that Finasteride may be applied to the scalp topically and the company Merck want to lay claim to that concept and idea.

Propecia is undoubtably one the most popular and effective remedies for hair loss that can be bought in the UK and is very popular with young men who suffer from Male Pattern Balding. Propecia can be used to grow hair and to maintain existing hair and thus stop hair loss continiuing unabated. The active ingredient in Propecia is finasteride and this has been given full approval by both the EMEA in the European Union and also by the FDA in the United States for sale but only when administered as a pill in 1mg form.

It has been thought for some time that a topical type of finasteride could be effective in blocking the formation of DHT in the scalp but the testing and research into it has not been done and the problem of either low or over absorbption of the finasteride as well as the potential side effects that could occur have not been looked into properly.

Topically applied medicines are much more difficult to regulate in the sense that the actual amount of the drug given is far harder to monitor and therefore an overdose or underdose can occur, unlike with a pill application which has a fixed amount of the medicine. A few analysts feel that Merck has applied for the topical finasteride patent only to stake a claim on all possible applicatons of the hair loss drug and not necessarily because they have advanced plans to actually launch the drug in this form. If the Propecia drug was to be launched as a topical solution it would need to be tested and researched very extensively before it could be sold or marketed.

Ukmedix will keep a look out for further developments with this story.