Deuruxolitinib (Leqselvi, Sun Pharma) shows ongoing and clinically meaningful improvements for up to 68 weeks in scalp hair regrowth among alopecia areata patients, according to pooled long-term results from open-label extension presented at the 2024 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference in Las Vegas, NV.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved deuruxolitinib (8mg) tablets for the treatment of adults with severe AA earlier this year.
To determine long-term efficacy of the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, researchers analyzed the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) scores using Last Observation Carried Forward (LOCF) and As Observed (AO).
At the end of the qualifying trial period at Week 24, 32.6% of patients receiving deuruxolitinib 8mg BID (twice daily) achieved a SALT ≤20 score; the percentage of SALT 20 responders increased to 48.8% (LOCF analysis) and 76.6% (AO analysis) at Week 68 of the OLE studies. Additionally, 99.6% (282 patients) maintained their response to deuruxolitinib 8mg BID (as defined by sustaining a SALT ≤50 after achieving SALT ≤20 during the OLE studies as of the cutoff date).
“This research provides insight into the durability of response experienced with LEQSELVI 8mg twice daily, adding to a growing body of evidence highlighting the benefits of this treatment for those living with severe alopecia areata,” says TDD Editorial Advisory Board Member Brett King, MD, PhD, an Associate Professor of Dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, in a news release. “These data highlight an important role for deuruxolitinib in the care of patients living with this disease.”
In addition to the OLE study, two posters presented at Fall Clinical found that doctors and patients prefer treatment options with fast time to onset and proven efficacy irrespective of dosing schedules. In the blinded treatment scenario displaying profiles of deuruxolitinib, baricitinib (Olumiant, Lilly) and ritlecitinib (Litfulo, Pfizer), patients and clinicians chose deuruxolitinib as the preferred therapeutic option.
