Alopecia treatment saves 80% of hair

A HOLD FreeRelease 7 | eTurboNews | eTN
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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Adults with severe alopecia areata (AA) who took OLUMIANT® (baricitinib) achieved significant scalp, eyelash and eyebrow hair regrowth and nearly 75% of those who responded to OLUMIANT 4-mg achieved 90% scalp coverage at 52 weeks, Eli Lilly and Company and Incyte announced today at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting. In February 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted priority review for OLUMIANT in severe AA as a potential first-in-disease medicine. Lilly expects regulatory decisions in the U.S., European Union and Japan in 2022.

In the pooled 52-week analysis, patients at baseline had a mean Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score of 85.5 (85.5% scalp hair loss, or 14.5% scalp hair coverage); severe AA is defined as having a SALT score ≥50 (≥50% scalp hair loss). At baseline, 69.4% and 57.9% had significant eyebrow and eyelash hair loss, respectively, as defined by Clinician-Reported Outcome (ClinRO) scores ≥2. Patients’ average age was 37.6 years, with hair loss starting around age 25 and a mean of 12.2 years since symptom onset.

Among patients who took OLUMIANT 4-mg, two out of five (39.0%, n=201/515) achieved significant scalp hair regrowth, defined as a SALT score ≤20, or 80% or more scalp hair coverage, and nearly three out of four of those patients (74.1%, n=149/201) also achieved a SALT score ≤10, or 90% hair coverage, at 52 weeks. Separately, more than two out of five patients with ClinRO baseline scores ≥2 (eyebrow: 44.1%, n=154/349; eyelash: 45.3%, n=139/307) saw full regrowth or regrowth with minimal gaps in eyebrow and eyelash hair.

Among patients who took OLUMIANT 2-mg, more than one out of five (22.6%, n=77/340) achieved significant scalp hair regrowth and two out of three of those patients (67.5%, n=52/77) achieved 90% or more hair coverage at 52 weeks. Separately, more than one in five and one in four patients, respectively (eyebrow: 22.9%, n=55/240; eyelash: 25.5%, n=51/200), saw full regrowth or regrowth with minimal gaps in eyebrow and eyelash hair.

These 52-week pooled analyses demonstrate continued improvement in scalp, eyebrows and eyelash hair regrowth from 36-week results published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the 2021 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress.

“Whether people with alopecia areata suffer loss of all the hair on their body or bald spots and missing eyebrows or eyelashes, this autoimmune disease can be devastating. The disease affects people of all ages,” said Brett King, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.D., associate professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine and lead author of these analyses. “In 2022, OLUMIANT could become the first medicine ever approved to treat adults with alopecia areata. It’s remarkable that nearly 40% of patients on OLUMIANT 4-mg, all of whom started out with at least 50% scalp hair loss, experienced full or nearly full scalp hair coverage, and similar improvements were achieved among those patients with significant eyebrows or eyelashes involvement.”

In an evaluation of OLUMIANT 4-mg and 2-mg long-term safety, incidence rates of frequently reported adverse events up to 52 weeks (median 56 weeks exposure) were consistent with the 36-week, placebo-controlled period and included upper respiratory tract infection, headache, acne, urinary tract infection and increases in muscle-related blood markers. There were no new safety signals.

“OLUMIANT’s long-term efficacy data reveal significant regrowth of scalp, eyelash and eyebrow hair and we’re delighted by what these results can mean for patients. Our alopecia areata safety data adds further evidence to one of the largest and longest sets of safety data in the JAK inhibitor class, including nine years and 19,000 patient years across our program,” said Lotus Mallbris, M.D., Ph.D., vice president of global immunology development and medical affairs at Lilly. “We’re excited OLUMIANT may be a potential first-in-disease medicine approved this year for adults with severe alopecia areata.”

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Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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