In the late 1950s, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company Upjohn developed minoxidil to treat ulcers. However, during clinical trials on dogs, the medication did not cure ulcers. And they were disappointed. Instead, they found that medication had widened the blood vessels. An unexpected effect they didn’t foresee. Bingo! They had found medicine to treat high blood pressure. Upjohn patented the drug and the FDA approved its usage to treat high blood pressure in 1979. The drug was sold in oral tablet form with the trade name Loniten.
Surprise, Surprise!
The story doesn’t end there. While the FDA granted Upjohn permission to test the drug as medicine for hypertension, scientists noticed some of the patients were reporting unexpected hair growth. One of the patients, a woman, complained that she had to shave her legs and trim her hair more frequently than before she started taking the medicine. Even though researchers thought the effect of the drug on hair growth is more unlikely, they decided to test the hypothesis anyway. Another clinical study was conducted to test the effect of minoxidil on hair growth. They transformed minoxidil into a topical solution and asked patients to apply it directly on the scalp. The results of the trial shocked the researchers. 39% of the patients had shown signs of hair regrowth. They have regained their hair! And Upjohn wanted to sell the medicine as Regain, an elixir to treat baldness in men. But FDA didn't approve the name since they thought it was misleading given the fact that only 39% of patients in the trial showed signs of hair growth. Upjohn started to sell the topical solution under the trade name Rogaine. Minoxidil is the only over the counter medicine to treat hair loss approved by the FDA.
Funny that a compound intended to treat ulcers ended up as a solution for hair loss in men!
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