Leqselvi demonstrates long-term improvements in adults with alopecia areata

Key takeaways:

• 32.6% of patients receiving Leqselvi 8 mg twice daily achieved hair regrowth equal to 20% or less hair loss.
• By the end of the study, 99.6% of patients were able to maintain 50% or less hair loss.

Leqselvi demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements long-term in adults with alopecia areata, Sun Pharma announced in a press release.

Presented at the Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference, pooled data from open-label extension studies showed that Leqselvi (deuruxolitinib, Sun Pharma) 8 mg tablets improved hair regrowth in adults with alopecia areata (AA) up to 68 weeks.

Approved by the FDA earlier this year, Leqselvi is a Janus kinase inhibitor that is reported to treat AA at the source.

Results of the study showed that after 24 weeks, which was the end of the qualifying trial period, 32.6% of patients receiving Leqselvi 8 mg twice daily achieved hair regrowth that equated hair loss of only 20% or less according to the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT).

By week 68, the percentage of patients that achieved SALT 20 or less reached 48.8% according to the last-observation-carried-forward analysis and 76.6% according to the as-observed analysis.

Also, 282 patients (99.6%) were able to maintain a SALT score of 50 or less by the end of the study.

“This research provides insight into the durability of response experienced with Leqselvi 8 mg twice daily, adding to a growing body of evidence highlighting the benefits of this treatment for those living with severe alopecia areata,” Brett King, MD, PhD, associate professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine and a member of Healio Dermatology’s Peer Perspective Board, said in the press release. “These data highlight an important role for deuruxolitinib in the care of patients living with this disease.”