Alopecia areata (AA) took center stage at the 2025 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. NAAF was on-site to advocate for the alopecia areata community and engage with thought leaders in dermatology, pharmaceutical partners, and patient advocates for skin diseases. NAAF team members Nicole Friedland, Robbie Baker, George Gondo, and Lisa Anderson, PhD, attended the conference. In addition to hearing from top experts in alopecia areata, the team met with pharmaceutical partners working on AA treatment development, including Pfizer, Lilly, AbbVie, Q32 Bio, and Nektar Therapeutics. Alopecia areata was prominently featured at the conference, with over 12 educational sessions, 46 research posters, and a pre-conference symposium dedicated to understanding the connections between AA and atopic dermatitis (eczema). Collaborating with the International Eczema Council and the National Eczema Association, NAAF participated in the symposium “Converging Pathways: Atopic Dermatitis and Alopecia Areata,” chaired by Dr. Emma Guttman and Dr. Natasha Mesinkovska. Chief Mission Officer George Gondo presented an update on NAAF’s research program and moderated an insightful patient panel featuring individuals who live with both diseases. Two “late-breaking” presentations highlighted exciting clinical trial results. NAAF Board Member Dr. Brett King presented early results from the SIGNAL-AA phase 2a clinical trial of bempikibart, a monoclonal antibody that blocks IL-7 and TSLP signaling in the immune system. The findings were promising, showing significant hair regrowth in patients with severe and very severe alopecia areata after 24 weeks of treatment. Notably, when treatment was discontinued, individuals who had experienced regrowth continued to see further improvement during the 12- to 24-week follow-up period, suggesting the potential for a long-lasting response even after stopping treatment. A phase 2b extension of this trial is planned by the study sponsor, Q32 Bio. In a second late-breaking presentation, Dr. Thierry Passeron shared the first report on the use of the JAK inhibitor baricitinib (Olumiant) in adolescents (ages 12–17) with severe alopecia areata from the BRAVE-AA-PEDS clinical trial. After 36 weeks of treatment, there was clinically meaningful regrowth of scalp hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows. At the 4mg dose, 42% of participants achieved at least 80% scalp hair coverage, compared to just 5% in the placebo group. With 257 adolescent participants, this represents the largest study to date of a JAK inhibitor in adolescents with alopecia areata. Read more on the bempikibart study results: Late-Breaking Data on Bempikibart for Severe Alopecia Areata, with Brett King, MD, PhD Read more on the adolescent barricitinib study in Lilly’s press release: https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lillys-baricitinib-delivered-high-rates-hair-regrowth
