Two JAK inhibitors are already approved
If approved for alopecia areata, deuruxolitinib will be the third JAK inhibitor available for this indication, following the recent approvals of baricitinib and ritlecitinib.
Calling JAK inhibitors “a major advance in the treatment of alopecia areata, particularly for those patients with severe, refractory disease,” Lynne Goldberg, MD, professor of dermatology at Boston University, and director of the hair clinic, Boston Medical Center, said that the proportion of patients with SALT scores ≤ 20 at 52-weeks is “huge.”
She is generally comfortable with the safety of the JAK inhibitors for alopecia areata.
“I believe that, in general, these medications are well tolerated in the alopecia areata population, particularly in otherwise healthy, young patients,” she said, indicating the benefit-to-risk ratio is particularly acceptable when disease is severe.
“This disease has tremendous emotional and functional implications, and many patients with severe or recurrent disease are willing to chance the side effects to live with a full head of hair,” she said. She added that well-informed patients can “make their own, individual assessment.”
Dr. King has financial relationships with approximately 20 pharmaceutical companies, including Concert Pharmaceuticals, which makes deuruxolitinib and provided funding for this study. Dr. Goldberg reports no financial conflicts relevant to this topic.