Dosing deuruxolitinib twice vs. once daily shows greater efficacy in alopecia areata
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Key takeaways:
- Deuruxolitinib dosed as 8 mg twice daily achieved better SALT scores vs. one daily 16 mg dose.
- A 75% or more improvement in SALT score was achieved by 31% of the 8 mg group vs. 10% of the 16 mg group.
A twice-daily dose of oral deuruxolitinib showed better alopecia areata results compared with a once-daily dose, according to a poster presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress.
“In this phase 2 study of deuruxolitinib for alopecia areata, a dose of deuruxolitinib 8 mg twice daily was compared to a single dose of deuruxolitinib 16 mg once daily to determine which would be better for hair growth,” Arash Mostaghimi, MD, MPA, MPH, associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School, vice chair of clinical trials and innovation and director of inpatient consultation service at the department of dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Healio.
In this randomized, parallel-group, phase 2 trial, 29 patients were assigned to receive 8 mg deuruxolitinib (Leqselvi, Sun Pharma) twice daily and 28 were assigned to 16 mg deuruxolitinib once daily.
The mean relative change from baseline in Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score at week 24 was 46.4% in the 8 mg group and 18% in the 16 mg group.
A 75% or greater improvement in SALT score at week 24 occurred in 31% of the 8 mg group compared with 10.7% in the 16 mg group, whereas a 90% or greater improvement was found in 20.7% and 3.6% of patients in the respective groups at week 24.
Mean relative change at week 24 was 46.4% compared with 18% in the 8 mg and 16 mg groups.
Adverse events occurred in 79.3% of patients in the 8 mg group and 82.1% of patients in the 16 mg group, with the most common being headache, nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection and acne. Of these, 18 were considered to be related to the study drug, including acne in seven patients, headache in two and increased weight in two patients.
“This data suggests that treatment with twice daily deuruxolitinib is more effective than once daily dosing, leading to the 8mg twice daily entering phase 3 trials,” Mostaghimi said. “These data excited me as they provide important context about the efficacy of the deuruxolitinib for clinicians evaluating it as a potential treatment option for their eligible patients.”
For more information:
Arash Mostaghimi, MD, MPH, can be reached at AMostaghimi@BWH.Harvard.edu.