UPDATED with comments March 28, 2022 // Nearly 40% of adults with alopecia areata taking baricitinib, an oral Janus kinase (JAK) 1 and 2 inhibitor, see significant hair regrowth over 52 weeks, according to updated results from two phase 3 trials presented at the American Academy of Dermatology 2022 annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.
The results indicate improved response rates and hair growth among trial participants, said Brett King, MD, PhD, an associate professor of dermatology at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. He is the lead author of the analyses and presented the research.
King presented 36-week results from the clinical trials at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 2021 Annual Meeting. The same results were also published March 26, 2022, in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Every bit of data we've had is hugely important," King said in an interview with Medscape Medical News. "Every time we add 16 weeks of data across hundreds of patients, we are making a huge step forward toward the goal of FDA approval for a medication for alopecia areata."
All patients enrolled in the two trials, called BRAVE-AA1 and BRAVE-AA2, had severe alopecia areata, defined as a Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score of ≥ 50, meaning 50% or less scalp coverage.
