new alopecia treatments show hair regrowth of 80%

concert pharmaceuticals has reported that a quarter of patients who took its new drug ctp-543 twice a day reported regrowth of 80 per cent hair coverage. and 30 to 40 per cent of patients with alopecia areata , the second most common kind of alopecia, had their hair fully grow back.

alopecia is an autoimmune condition that causes hair to fall out — sometimes only in select areas, and sometimes all over the head or body. the disorder was thrust in the spotlight several months ago when will smith famously slapped chris rock for making a joke about smith’s wife’s hair . jada pinkett smith has spoken at length about her alopecia. (some conspiracy-minded people even joked the much-discussed slap could be viral marketing for the new drug.)

the first of two phase 3 trials studied 700 people with moderate to severe alopecia areata for 24 weeks. the participants had all lost at least half of their hair, with the average having just 16 per cent of hair left, people reported .

the drug’s early results are promising for alopecia treatment

“eighty per cent [regrowth] is a lot. i’d take that,” alopecia advocate thea chassin of bald girls do lunch told insider . “it’s very important to recognize that some hair growth, if it was a lower number like 20 or 30 per cent, that’s some hair, but it’s not a hairdo.”

the company’s chief executive roger tung told the boston globe that the trial has provided “some of the best data” about alopecia.

this news comes after the huge pharmaceutical company eli lilly also reported positive results from two phase 3 trials of its own alopecia drug, baricitinib. about 40 per cent of eli lilly’s test patients had at least 80 per cent scalp coverage by the end of that trial, which lasted 52 weeks.