Company tackling male baldness

Island Laboratories, which has its corporate headquarters in St. George’s, has developed Stemcelex, a safe and natural hair regrowth treatment. It has now applied for Health Canada’s approval as a natural health product.

You have to display safety and efficacy to them, but their most important perspective is it’s safe for people to use, said Robert Tulk, president of the company.

According to the company’s patent, Stemcelex is: a system provided for promoting hair growth comprising one or more extracts from a steroidal alkaloid-containing plant selected from a Veratrum plant, a Buxus plant, a Holarrhena plant, a Solarium plant and a Rauwolfia plant … The system can also be used in reducing hair loss, enhancing or restoring hair colour, increasing the thickness of hair, improving the general appearance of hair, and/or reducing or eliminating dandruff. Methods of promoting the growth of hair are also provided.

With a global patent registered, Island Laboratories plans to set up corporate offices in Toronto. There’s also interest from China, India, the Middle East and Europe to manufacture and distribute the product, said Tulk.

You have to compete globally, he said. If you can’t rationalize placing manufacturing where you’d like to put it  close to the people of your local communities  then first and foremost you have to survive …