DIAZOXIDE TOPICAL SOLUTION BEING DEVELOPED AS HAIR GROWTH PRODUCT by Lakatos-Topol Research Institute, the company announced in a Feb. 24 press release. Lakatos-Topol said it obtained an exclusive license to the product, except in Japan, from a physician in Detroit who developed a method to put diazoxide in solution. The original mfr. of diazoxide is Schering-Plough, which markets the drug in injectable form for treatment of hypertension under the brandname Hyperstat, and, at one time, marketed an oral formulation, called Proglycem, for management of hypoglycemia. Lakatos-Topol said Medical Market Specialties, Inc., located in Cedar Grove, N.J., currently markets Proglycem. Lakatos-Topol said it believes diazoxide is superior to Upjohn's Regaine (minoxidil) as a hair growth stimulant. The firm's release claims that diazoxide "produces a longer and thicker growth of hair" than the Upjohn product. Upjohn's minoxidil is also marketed as an antihypertensive under the tradename Loniten. Upjohn has an NDA pending for the topical dosage form for treatment of male pattern baldness and alopecia areata. Lakatos-Topol said it has begun testing the hair growth product outside the U.S. and requested FDA permission to conduct tests in the U.S. An IND has not yet been filed. The firm has also applied for a U.S. patent. Based in Houston, Texas, Lakatos-Topol was formed in July 1985 and went public in January. In its initial offering, the firm said it "intends to engage in cancer research and the business of research and development of diagnostic, treatment, and therapeutic products incorporating monoclonal antibodies created by means of hybridoma technology or 'cell fusions.'" Lakatos-Topol said it raised $125,000 from its initial offering and needs to raise an additional $2 mil. to carry out development of three projects. In addition to diazoxide, the company said it acquired an exclusive license, except in Japan, to monoclonal antibodies to malignant melanoma and monoclonal antibodies to squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. Lakatos-Topol also reported that it is developing monoclonal antibodies to LDHK (lactate dehydrogenase K), an enzyme that the firm said is found solely in cancer cells. In its filing, the company said it anticipates contracting for R&D and clinical testing and "subcontracting with and/or licensing established mfrs. for production and marketing of some, or possibly all, of its products."
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