More JAKs in the Box: New Janus Kinase Inhibitors in Clinical Trial stages

JAK Inhibitors: Many Different Compounds Being Trialled For Alopecia Areata

It’s a pretty exciting time in the world of alopecia areata research. 

Although tofacitinib, ruxolitinib and baricitinib are FDA approved for various indications and now used off label for treating alopecia areata, other JAK inhibitor drugs are in the clinical trial stages.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to hear my colleague dermatologist Dr Brett King of Yale University deliver a very nice first hand account of his work with medications known as the janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors over the past 5 years or so. Dr King described how his patient with alopecia areata back in 2013 lead ultimately to him using tofacitinib as a treatment and how that patient’s successful hair regrowth lead ultimately to an expansion of his work in this area. Dr King shared that there are now at least 7 clinical trials with various JAK inhibitors happening and so we should be hearing a lot more about newer JAK inhibitors in the years to come.