Sorry for the double post, but I just wanted to say I would participate in some sort of group buy from
@jeff_ so we can get the lotion much sooner.
This forum has some wise users in username1 and mr_robot. I"ll post this in both relevant threads I guess. I spoke to a knowledgeable chemist at a compounding pharmacy here in NY (Haldey Pharma). After mentioning a doctor's prescription would be required, he read through the patent. He first tried to source the components and then looked at the preparation methodology. He said the following:
1) Components
He can get phosphatidylcholine but does not have a *verified* source for DGLA, S-Equol and L-propionylcarnitine (not sure about Stearylamine) and thus cannot fabricate as this is a regulatory constraint. Unsurprisingly, he would *not* recommend I get them from China.
I'm in the second GB and Spato mentioned European suppliers exist but they are very expensive so he had to go outside Europe. He says the lab that's working with him are using their supplier, don't know if they're Chinese. I believe Spato is genuine (though I'm not sure how he'll Fedex everyone this time around without asking for more money, or is Fedex roughly the same cost as what he used for the first GB?). If I receive a bottle from Spato, I can either start to use immediately or try to have it analysed first (which may be prohibitively expensive). Others who claimed to have received it generally did not complain of anything drastic (while one guy apparently sold his bottle bc of side effects he was experiencing, I'm more concerned about lead poisoning and other risks from a shoddy supplier than sides from the active ingredients which we would have gotten from the commercial product as well.) I'd like to know exactly how expensive a reputable European (or any country) supplier would be if they exist. If anyone has any info, please share.
Interestingly, the chemist mentioned that health supplement companies produce some of these chemicals (S Equol, L-propionylcarnitine) but the capsule formulations are not pure. Nonetheless, we could break the capsules and try to formulate lotion from the liquid. Based on what I write below about liposomal delivery, my guess is that wouldn't work well.
2) Preparation
The methodology is vague as one would expect. The parameters of the liposome preparation are not known so it's impossible for any compounding pharmacy in the world to replicate. This has been mentioned by username1 and mr_robot. The patent represents a manufacturing process (not a compound) which requires industrial chemical equipment etc. He also said he believes the components arrive with impurities and that they likely use the sonicator to reclaim the original substances.
Now, Spato did work with a lab (and a sonicator) to produce a lotion. According to this chemist, Spato likely didn't get the liposomes correct, which would affect the effectiveness as the delivery mechanism is suboptimal. Further, mr_robot mentioned getting the preservatives right might be trial and error - however, those who claim to have received it make no mention of stability/preservation issues so can we assume that obstacle has been overcome? I agree with username1 that the effectiveness should only be judged based on the official product. But given that my principle is to continue to attempt to test it (as safely as possible) until Fidia actually releases it, my question is does this suboptimality necessarily mean 100% of the benefit will be lost? Spato's latest post shows a photo with claims of new vellus hairs as he's been using for a few weeks now. What to make of this?
http://rivoluzionecapelli.blogspot.it/
Will try to find labs (in less regulated geographies) that may take this on. Do you guys feel that anageninc could get this done properly? Another poster mentioned one of Kane's users got lead poisoning (or something like that?) which gives me pause. Perhaps anageninc is familiar enough with liposomal delivery into the scalp?
Feedback welcomed and encouraged.