ACell/Matristem in Canada: still not allowed in 2016

ACell in Canada: Physicians still not allowed to use

ACell is a company that creates products for regenerative medicine.

Matristem is one of it's products. Matristem is basically a purified product from from pig bladder cells. The Matristem product seems to be helpful in wound healing.

Some countries use ACell with PRP. This is done with the thinking that there is a close relationship between wound healing and hair growth.

Matristem/ACell: Illegal in Canada & Physicians CAN NOT use

I've been in contact wth Health Canada for some time down to discuss the use of ACell. Despite it's FDA approval in the United States, ACell/Matristem is not available in Canada and no physician is able to offer it to Canadian patients. Unfortunately there are no exceptions to extend to my patients!  I'll continue my discussions with ACell and Health Canada in the months ahead.

Overall, I'm not too concerned about these restrictions as there has yet to be good comparative studies of Matristem/PRP vs PRP alone. So it remains anyone's guess whether ACell really adds benefit to PRP for hair loss. These studies need to be  researched, need to be shared in medical journals and need to be verified. 

ACell's Matristem is a unique product and I look forward to it someday being available in Canada (if it proves useful in treating hair loss).  Until that time, we continue to modify our PRP technique to further improve results for men and women with hair loss.

Check on the status:

Interested individuals can check on the status of Matristem anytime, by entering Matristem into the search criteria of the Health Canada guide:

http://webprod5.hc-sc.gc.ca/dpd-bdpp/index-eng.jsp