European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 24, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                More than so million men and women in the United states suffer from genetic pattern baldness boosting the restorative treatment Market to a yearly $4 billion to $5 billion. A growing Market for baldness cures by Robin Schatz  promises promises. Balding men have heard their share. Creams that thicken salves that cleanse and rejuvenate elixirs that stimulate. All too often disappointment grows not hair. People in the United states who tuned in to Abc to s War and remembrance in november caught the first consumer and for Upjohn co s Romaine the Only approved prescription drug that can legally Promise to grow hair some of the time. The food and drug administration allows Upjohn to claim that in clinical tests Romaine proved effective in growing some hair for about 31 percent of its users and in causing dense growth for 8 percent. While Upjohn is continuing its research on hair loss and other companies Are exploring promising baldness treatments Consumers should not expect another prescription drug any time soon experts say. It appears that Romaine As a hair growth agent has a Clear Field for a number of years says Robert Hodgson a health care Industry analyst at Oppenheimer & co. Who projects $165 million in sales for Romaine next year. Even so Over the counter products for thinning hair from Snake Oil cures to offerings from mainstream cosmetics companies such As Estee Lauder inc. And Revlon inc. Are proliferating in the United states and some Industry observers think Romaine which received Fra approval in August is helping to prime the pump. It does seem the Market is just growing and growing. Now that there is Romaine around it ends some credibility to some other products said Jonathan s. Gelles a pharmaceutical Industry analyst for Wertheim Schroder. I Don t think Romaine legitimizes anything but Romaine. Counters Hodgson and Upjohn of course agrees. Upjohn has sued 19 companies and hair loss centers for alleged Patent infringements and two other companies that claim their formulas grow hair. The potential Market is tantalizing about 30 million men and 20 million women suffer from genetic pattern baldness and about 5 million people lose their hair for other reasons according to the hair loss Institute. The consumer group estimates that americans spend $4 billion to $5 billion a year on everything from hairpieces to hair transplants and some analysts estimate that cosmetic hair loss treatments alone could become a $1 billion a year Market. There s no question that Romaine s significant promotion and advertising is going to heighten awareness of the area said Richard Hoyt Revlon s vice president of marketing. Upjohn is spending an estimated $20 million on its eight month consumer and Campaign which Many observers say is crucial to the product s Success since patients would most Likely approach their doctors first. Still Romaine a topical solution of Upjohn s blood pressure Medicine minoxidil has some limitations and disadvantages which Samuel isaly an analyst at . Warburg blames for disappointing sales. Upjohn says that Romaine works Best in men under 40, who have not been balding for More than 10 years. It requires a prescription a doctor s supervision and a chinese doctor daubs baldness cure no. 101" on the Scalp of a 6-year-old in Beijing. F application twice a Day for the rest of your life to maintain the often modest hair growth. It s also expensive priced Between $50 and $100 a bottle. Or. Stephen Brill Kurtin a new York dermatologist with 500 patients on Romaine says the biggest resistance i have when my patients come in Here is not the Cost or the even theoretical risks it is the lifetime  for men who Don t choose Romaine but still want their thinning hair to look better cosmetics Are often the alternative. Every Young Man wants his own hair Back first says Michael Mahoney president of the hair loss Council. Those that buy cosmetics for hair loss Are usually driven by expectations that they will not just look better but grow hair he says. Cosmetic treatments Are being sold in department stores mass Market retailers such As drugstores and supermarkets on to and through the mail. Some companies Are following a straight and narrow path making purely cosmetic not therapeutic claims to avoid the Fra s scrutiny. But others Are making less Subtle claims insinuating or even stating that their products have been shown to grow hair. Last month the Etc sued to marketers Patron i of los Angeles maker of the Helsinki formula and California Pacific research maker of new generation for alleged false advertising that claims the products can grow hair. The suits followed similar lawsuits by Upjohn. Both products which say that they cleanse the hair follicle and allow the hair to grow Are made with Polys rate an ingredient in Mayonnaise and Are advertised on to in half hour talk show style commercials. The two companies stand by their claims of hair growth which they say Are based on extensive research at the University of Helsinki. Patron i has counter sued Upjohn claiming that it is colluding with the Etc to eliminate Competition. Minnetonka inc s Flotene and no Triplex a product of Estee Lauder s Aramis division first opened up the Market for products to help thinning hair look thicker but they Are expensive and sold Only in department stores and in Flotene s Case in Beauty salons. A 90-Day Supply of no Triplex is $75. Revlon which has developed the nut Rasome products for thinning hair Sticks to strictly cosmetic claims that they make hair Fuller and thicker and look stronger  nut Rasome which became available in some american department stores last fall will be the first major Brand to aim for the mass Market. It is due to be on shelves in the United states in february with a recommended $7 Price tag for each product in the line. Angio medical products corp., a new York based pharmaceutical company that developed zome Xin an extract from a pig s Omentum the fatty membrane that covers the intestines has licensed it to three companies As a cosmetic for thinning hair. Helene Curtis the Chicago based cosmetics company plans to Roll out its zome Xin based line next year while Licensee Amway the direct marketer will Roll out its Trich Omax products in january. But at the same time Angio medical has commissioned research to show whether zome Xin grows hair. Researchers hired by Angio medical say that the initial results Are encouraging and they appear in a commercial to discuss the hair growth benefits of Mexin the product produced by Angio medical corp s third Licensee Europa hair research. Jan Mirsky vice president finance for Angio medical said tha the testimonials do not violate the Law. Some prominent dermatologists say that they Don t believe the Omentum extract can grow hair but or. Pat Wexler a new York dermatologist who hosted the half hour talk show said that in her double Blind six month study of 125 men where neither she nor the patients knew who got the real treatment or the Placebo a significant number grew pigmented hairs not peach fuzz. Or. Jerome l. Shupack associate professor of clinical dermatology at new York University school of Medicine conceded that even if cosmetic products Don t grow hair they might not be a bad alternative for some people. If hair looks better and feels better who really cares if it s affecting the hair follicle Kurtin s patients often ask him if the products sold on to work and he tells them they might not help but probably won t Hurt them either. The Only harm is to your pocketbook he said. Tuesday january 24, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 13