BIO-H-TIN

BIO-H-TIN is a German hair- and nail-care brand sold without prescription through pharmacies. It belongs to Dr. Pfleger Arzneimittel, a mid-sized pharmaceutical company based in Bamberg, which operates the brand's website. The range is unusual for a beauty brand in that it spans three regulatory worlds: licensed over-the-counter medicines (biotin tablets and minoxidil sprays), food supplements (the Hair Essentials capsules) and cosmetics (caffeine shampoos and a nail serum).

The brand is active. Its biotin tablets, sold under the name "Vitamin H", are the product Dr. Pfleger calls "the original"; more recent additions include a supplement for men and a pair of caffeine shampoos introduced with supporting laboratory studies. The company that owns it is itself owned by a charitable foundation, an arrangement that shapes how the parent describes its purpose.

When BIO-H-TIN was created, and by whom, is not publicly documented. The parent company's own published history, which runs from its founding to recent building projects, does not mention the brand at all.

That parent company was founded in Bamberg in 1945 by the researcher Prof. Dr. Robert Pfleger, who also led it for many years [9]. Its early milestones were medicines outside hair care: the painkiller Neuralgin in 1952, the ipalat throat pastilles in 1957 and, later, treatments for an overactive bladder. Robert Pfleger died in 1971. These dates belong to the company, not to BIO-H-TIN, and should not be read as the brand's own launch years.

The name itself points to the brand's core ingredient. Biotin is also known as vitamin H, and the company uses both terms side by side in its consumer articles, describing "Vitamin H (Biotin)" as the vitamin for healthy skin, hair and nails. The flagship tablets are sold under that name.

On the consumer side, the ownership is straightforward. The biohtin.de website names Dr. Pfleger Arzneimittel GmbH in Bamberg as its operator [3], and the product pages present the range as "from Dr. Pfleger Arzneimittel".

The regulatory paperwork adds a second name. The official prescribing information for the 10 mg Vitamin H tablets lists BIO-H-TIN PHARMA GmbH, also in Bamberg, as the holder of the marketing authorisation, while naming Dr. Pfleger Arzneimittel GmbH as manufacturer and distributor [17]. The two are not in conflict. BIO-H-TIN PHARMA GmbH is a subsidiary named after the brand, as the German pharmacy trade publication APOTHEKE ADHOC explained [14], and the German company register service North Data lists Dr. Pfleger Arzneimittel GmbH as its shareholder [18]. In short, the brand belongs to Dr. Pfleger, and one of its medicines is licensed through a Dr. Pfleger subsidiary that shares the brand's name.

Since 1974, Dr. Pfleger has been owned by the Doktor Robert Pfleger-Stiftung, a foundation bearing the founder's name, to which the company's shares passed that year [9]. According to the German-language Wikipedia, the foundation owns the company outright [13]. Dr. Pfleger states that its surpluses flow into this non-profit foundation, whose aims are to preserve jobs at the company's site and to support medical research as well as social and charitable projects. The foundation marked its 50th anniversary in 2024, together with the award of its Doktor Robert Pfleger research prize.

By its own figures, Dr. Pfleger employs around 350 people in production, development and sales and reported revenue of more than 110 million euros in 2023. Its range of more than 60 medicines and medical devices covers urology, dermatology and gynaecology as well as self-treatment of pain, hoarseness and hair problems. BIO-H-TIN is the company's hair-and-nail brand within that wider portfolio.

BIO-H-TIN describes itself as offering "comprehensive and individual solutions" for hair and nails that look healthy over the long term [1]. The company says its products combine established active ingredients, namely biotin and minoxidil, with caring ingredients. The website's title line, "Zeit für schöne Haare und Nägel" ("time for beautiful hair and nails"), sets a consumer tone, while the medicines in the range are presented with their approved uses.

Rather than grouping products only by type, the website starts from the causes of hair and nail problems. Visitors are asked to pick what lies behind their own case, with options such as hereditary factors, mechanical strain, stress, menopause, pregnancy, competitive sport or a medical diagnosis, before being guided to a product. A library of articles signed "Team BIO-H-TIN" explains topics such as minoxidil and its side effects, brittle nails, biotin and hair loss in women.

The values the brand puts forward are largely those of its parent. Under the heading "Dafür steht BIO-H-TIN" ("what BIO-H-TIN stands for"), the site features three company essays: "Was zählt, ist der Mensch" ("what counts is the person"), a piece on long-term sustainability, and "Gesundheit aus Bamberg" ("health from Bamberg"). The guiding aim published there is to keep pursuing innovations and products that make people healthy.

Origin is a recurring theme. The shampoo range is labelled as developed and produced in Bamberg, and the company frames that local manufacturing as a mark of quality.

Vitamin H tablets. The biotin tablets come in 2.5 mg, 5 mg and 10 mg strengths and are licensed as over-the-counter medicines. Dr. Pfleger presents them as "the original with recognised efficacy" [12]. The company says they produce visible results for thin, dull hair and for splitting, brittle fingernails, although its product page does not cite a study for that claim.

Minoxidil sprays. BIO-H-TIN sells minoxidil as Minoxidil BIO-H-TIN Pharma, in a 20 mg/ml spray for women over 18 with hereditary (androgenetic) hair loss and a 50 mg/ml version for men.

Hair Essentials. The Hair Essentials capsules are food supplements that pair biotin with zinc and selenium. A men's version, Hair Essentials Men Forte, was launched in pharmacies as a formula designed specifically for men's hair; Dr. Pfleger describes it as vegan and lactose-free [11].

Nail care. For nails the range includes a strengthening nail serum, which the company says helps build strong and healthy nails, along with a nail cream and a glass nail file.

Caffeine shampoos. The newest line is a pair of Coffein-Shampoos, one for women and one for men, both built on caffeine. According to BIO-H-TIN, both formulas are vegan, free of silicones, parabens and sulfates, and formulated without animal testing. These are the company's own statements; no third-party certification, such as a cruelty-free label, is documented for the brand.

The shampoos are also where the brand makes its most specific scientific claims. The company cites a 2025 laboratory study on hair-follicle tissue by the testing firm Eurofins BIO-EC, which it says showed improved cell viability and higher levels of anchoring proteins (laminin-5) in the follicle structures [5]. It also cites a 2026 combing and pulling test by SGS proderm GmbH, reported as showing significantly fewer broken hairs than untreated hair, and a use test under dermatological supervision in which users reported more volume, more shine and stronger hair. On this basis, BIO-H-TIN says the shampoos support hair anchoring at the root and demonstrably reduce breakage.

Sustainability is handled at company level rather than by the brand alone. Dr. Pfleger's sustainability essay, republished on the BIO-H-TIN website, organises its efforts into three pillars: environment and resources, people and social matters, and the product portfolio [8]. The parent also publishes a sustainability report and describes projects on inclusion alongside its environmental work. Beyond the vegan and silicone-free claims made for individual products, no brand-specific environmental targets are documented.

BIO-H-TIN is an active brand. In 2026 its homepage promoted the caffeine shampoos as new, the supporting combing study is dated 2026, and North Data lists "BIO-H-TIN" word and figurative trademark publications from June 2026 [18]. The brand operates the German-language website biohtin.de and has Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Distribution runs through pharmacies. According to the company, all BIO-H-TIN products are available without prescription, either over the counter or, in many cases, from online mail-order pharmacies [1]. Documented distribution is limited to Germany, and no official international distribution is described.