Baricitinib Achieves Hair Regrowth in Alopecia Areata

Baricitinib, the oral selective reversible inhibitor of Janus kinases 1 and 2, shows promise as an alopecia areata treatment. Study data presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), held from March 25 to 29, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts, showed efficacy across groups of patients with severe and very severe alopecia areata as well as alopecia universalis.

The 2 multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, adaptive phase 2/3 studies examined the safety and efficacy of baricitinib in 1200 patients with alopecia areata who had 50% or more hair loss. The researchers defined severity of hair loss as severe when it reached an Achieving Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score of 50 to 94. Very severe SALT scores were 95 through 100. Patients with alopecia universalis were also included in the studies. The primary endpoint for the studies was to achieve a SALT score of 20 or better at 36 weeks.

At week 36, doses of both 2 mg and 4 mg of baricitinib were more efficacious than the placebo. Of the participants with severe alopecia areata, 32.7% (2 mg) and 47.6% (4 mg) met the primary endpoint. Of the very severe, 9.8 (2 mg) and 21.3 (4 mg) met the primary endpoint. Of those with alopecia universalis, 19.6% (2 mg) and 27.7% (4 mg) met the endpoint.

The researchers concluded that baricitinib was superior to placebo in achieving significant hair regrowth in adults with severe alopecia areata after 36 weeks of treatment.

Disclosure: This research was supported by Eli Lilly and Company. Please see the original reference for a full list of disclosures.

Reference

Taylor SC, Korman NJ, Tsai T-F, et al. Efficacy of baricitinib in patients with varying degrees of alopecia areata severity: Results from BRAVE-AA1 and BRAVE-AA2. Presented at: the 2022 AAD Annual Meeting; March 25-29, 2022. Abstract/Poster 33766.