Background: Baricitinib, an oral selective JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor, is approved for the treatment of adults with severe alopecia areata (AA).
Objective: To evaluate differences in response up to week 52 among subgroups based on the baseline severity of AA assessed with the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score.
Methods: Data were pooled from BRAVE-AA1 and BRAVE-AA2, two randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trials, which enrolled adults with a SALT score ≥ 50. Patients were subdivided by the degree of AA severity at baseline.
Results: Among the 855 patients treated with baricitinib 2 mg and 4 mg, improvements in scalp hair growth continued through to week 52. A superior response was observed in patients with a SALT score of 50-94 versus a score of 95-100. Patients on baricitinib 4 mg had a faster and higher response rate compared to baricitinib 2 mg.
Conclusion: Across all degrees of severity for baricitinib 2 mg and 4 mg doses, the proportion of patients responding was yet to plateau up to week 52. Response to treatment was longer for patients with a baseline SALT score 95-100. Further studies are needed to analyze other parameters that may impact observed response rates.
Keywords: Adults; Alopecia areata; Alopecia totalis; Alopecia universalis; Baricitinib; Clinician-reported outcome; Efficacy; Hair loss; Janus kinase; Randomized; Severity of alopecia tool.
© 2023. The Author(s).