Rinvoq’s efficacy in alopecia areata is “impressive,” according to Guggenheim analysts, who said the drug could have a competitive edge over other JAK inhibitors in the space.
AbbVie’s Rinvoq significantly lowered scalp hair loss in a pivotal Phase III study of alopecia areata, positioning the JAK inhibitor as a challenger to other therapies in this space.
Calling AbbVie’s readout “impressive” in a Thursday note to investors, Guggenheim analysts noted that Rinvoq is “the dominant JAK inhibitor on the market,” suggesting that it has “a clear advantage over competitors in terms of physician familiarity and patient access.”
AbbVie is studying Rinvoq in the Phase III UP-AA program, comprising two pivotal trials that tested 15-mg and 30-mg doses of Rinvoq in patients with severe alopecia areata, defined as having roughly 16% scalp hair coverage at baseline, as measured by scores on the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT).
Results showed that at 24 weeks, 44.6% of patients on a 15-mg dose of Rinvoq achieved SALT scores indicating at least 80% scalp hair coverage, as compared with 3.4% of placebo comparators. This figure improved slightly to 54.3% in those treated with the 30-mg dose. AbbVie also reported that 36.0% and 47.1% of patients in the respective dose groups saw at least 90% scalp hair coverage versus 1.4% in the placebo group.
“We are very impressed by the SALT score ≤ 10 results,” the Guggenheim analysts wrote on Thursday. “The placebo-adjusted SALT score. . .are much higher than what we have seen for other JAK inhibitors in the space,” they added, pointing at Eli Lilly’s Oluminant, Pfizer’s Litfulo and Sun Pharma’s Leqselvi. Guggenheim estimates alopecia areata “to add several hundred million to $1Bn+ in annual sales [for Rinvoq] by the early 2030’s.”
AbbVie stock was up about 4% in pre-market trading, just before the company announced its second-quarter earnings Thursday morning.
As for safety, AbbVie reported that side effects in Thursday’s readout were “generally consistent” with what had been established for Rinvoq in prior trials. There were no major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), malignancies or deaths. The pharma expects to report data from another UP-AA study in Q3.
Given orally, Rinvoq is a JAK inhibitor approved for various immune-mediated conditions, including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, atopic dermatitis and psoriatic arthritis. It most recently added to its label with an April approval for giant cell arteritis. The drug works by disrupting signaling pathways involved in the immune and inflammatory response. Its label comes with a boxed warning for serious infections, death, MACE, malignancy and thrombosis.
Rinvoq is one of two drugs—the other one being the biologic Skyrizi—that AbbVie is primarily leaning on to soften the blow of Humira’s patent cliff. In 2024, Rinvoq brought in $5.971 billion in global net revenues.
