Doctor who helped develop Rogaine dies in Miami

MIAMI — A South Florida dermatologist credited with helping develop the first baldness remedy recognized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has died. He was 80.

Dr. Guinter Kahn’s daughter Michelle said her father died Sept. 17 at a Miami hospice.

Kahn’s name was added to the patent for minoxidil in 1986 after a 15-year legal struggle with Upjohn Co. Minoxidil is the active ingredient in Rogaine.

Upjohn originally synthesized minoxidil to treat high blood pressure in the early 1960s. When Dr. Charles Chidsey — one of the company’s consultants — noticed the drug stimulated hair growth, Chidsey went to Kahn and his medical assistant, Dr. Paul Grant.

The Miami Herald reports that Kahn and Grant eventually developed a topical solution for minoxidil in 1971.