UK Authorizes Eli Lilly’s Olumiant for Severe Alopecia Areata

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorized Eli Lilly’s blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Olumiant (baricitinib) for treatment of adult patients with severe alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that leads to hair loss.

The marketing authorization was based on results from two studies that achieved their primary endpoints as measured by the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score. Patients also achieved full regrowth or regrowth with minimal gaps in eyebrow and eyelash hair.

The FDA approved the drug for the indication in June — the agency’s first approval of a systemic alopecia areata treatment for the entire body rather than a specific location.

Olumiant earned more than $1.1 billion in sales last year.