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Active, not recruitingPhase 3

A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Effectiveness of Upadacitinib Tablets in Adult and Adolescent Participants in Japan With Alopecia Areata

Key facts

Who runs it
AbbVie
Where
Japan15 sites in 1 countryChoose a country to see its sites
Trial code
Status
Active, not recruiting
Phase
Phase 3
People taking part
125 people enrolled
Started
19 Jun 2025
Expected to end
Feb 2029
Type of study
Interventional, 10 groupsOne group gets a placebo (a dummy treatment), for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Upadacitinib
  • Upadacitinib Placebo
Record updated
30 July 2026

Who can take part

Age
12 years to 63 years
Sex
Women and men
Healthy volunteers
Cannot take part

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 8 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Participant is judged to be in good health as determined by the Principal Investigator, based upon the results of the Screening assessments and medical history
  • Diagnosis of severe alopecia areata (AA) with Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score >= 25 (>= 25% scalp hair loss) at Screening and Baseline
  • Current episode of AA of less than 8 years

Who cannot take part

  • Active infection(s) requiring treatment with intravenous anti-infectives within 30 days, or oral/intramuscular anti-infectives within 14 days prior to the Baseline Visit
  • Diagnosis of other types of inflammatory scalp, eyebrow, or eyelash disorders that would interfere with evaluation of AA as determined by the investigator, including but not limited to seborrheic dermatitis, scalp psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (AD), and tinea capitis
  • Chronic recurring infection and/or active viral infection that, based on the investigator's clinical assessment, makes the participant an unsuitable candidate for the study
  • Current diagnosis of primarily diffuse type of AA
  • Current diagnosis of other types of alopecia that would interfere with evaluation of AA, including but not limited to female pattern hair loss, male pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) Stage III or greater based on Hamilton-Norwood classification, traction alopecia, lichen planopilaris (LPP), discoid lupus, frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA), folliculitis decalvans, trichotillomania, and telogen effluvium

This trial has no sites in United States.

It has sites in one country. Choose a country to see its sites.

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

Alopecia areata (AA) is a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. AA usually affects the head and face, but hair loss can happen on any part of the body. The purpose of this study is to assess how safe, effective, and tolerable upadacitinib is in adolescent and adult participants in Japan with severe AA.

Read full original descriptionShow less

Upadacitinib is an approved drug being investigated for the treatment of AA. In Period A, participants are placed in 1 of 3 groups, called treatment arms. Each group receives a different treatment. There is a 1 in 3 chance that participants will be assigned to placebo. In Period B, participants originally randomized to a upadacitinib dose group in Period A will continue their same treatment in Period B. Participants originally randomized to Placebo in Period A will be re-randomized in 1 of 2 groups receiving upadacitinib. Participants who complete Period B can join Period C and will receive 1 of 2 doses of upadacitinib for up to 52 weeks based on their SALT score. Around 123 adolescent and adult participants with severe AA will be enrolled in the study at approximately 20 sites in Japan.

Participants will receive oral tablets of either upadacitinib or placebo once daily for up to 104 weeks with the potential of being re-randomized into a different treatment group at Weeks 24 and 52. Participants will be followed up for up to 30 days after their last study drug dose.

There may be higher treatment burden for participants in this trial compared to their standard of care. Participants will attend regular visits during the study at a hospital or clinic. The effect of the treatment will be checked by medical assessments, blood tests, checking for side effects and completing questionnaires.

The 10 groups in the trial

  • Group 1A: Upadacitinib Dose ATreatment being tested

    Participants will receive upadacitinib dose A once daily for 52 weeks in Period A and Period B.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib

  • Group 2A: Upadacitinib Dose BTreatment being tested

    Participants will receive upadacitinib dose B once daily for 52 weeks in Period A and Period B.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib

  • Group 3A: Upadacitinib PlaceboPlacebo, for comparison

    Participants will receive upadacitinib placebo once daily for 24 weeks in Period A.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib Placebo

  • Group 1B: Upadacitinib Dose ATreatment being tested

    Participants initially randomized to placebo (Period A) will be re-randomized to receive upadacitinib dose A once daily for 28 weeks in Period B.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib

  • Group 2B: Upadacitinib Dose BTreatment being tested

    Participants initially randomized to placebo (Period A) will be re-randomized to receive upadacitinib dose B once daily for 28 weeks in Period B.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib

  • Period C: Upadacitinib Dose A Remains Dose ATreatment being tested

    For participants initially randomized to dose A in Periods A and B and participants initially randomized to placebo who switched to dose A in Period B: participants with a Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) score \<= 10 at Week 52 (end of Period B) will remain on blinded upadacitinib dose A once daily in Period C for 52 weeks.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib

  • Period C: Upadacitinib Dose A to Dose BTreatment being tested

    For participants initially randomized to dose A in Periods A and B and participants initially randomized to placebo who switched to dose A in Period B: participants with a SALT score \> 10 at Week 52 (end of Period B) will dose escalate to blinded upadacitinib dose B once daily in Period C for 52 weeks.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib

  • Period C: Upadacitinib Dose B Non-Sustained RespondersTreatment being tested

    For participants initially randomized to dose B in Periods A and B and participants initially randomized to placebo who switched to dose B in Period B: participants with a SALT score \> 10 at Week 40 or Week 52 will remain on blinded upadacitinib dose B once daily in Period C for 52 weeks.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib

  • Period C: Upadacitinib Dose B Sustained RespondersTreatment being tested

    For participants initially randomized to dose B in Periods A and B and participants initially randomized to placebo who switched to dose B in Period B: participants with a SALT score \<= 10 at Week 40 and Week 52 will receive blinded upadacitinib dose A once daily in Period C for 52 weeks.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib

  • Period C: Open-Label Upadacitinib Dose BTreatment being tested

    Participants with no improvement or worsening from Baseline in their SALT score at the Week 40 visit or any scheduled visit thereafter will receive open-label upadacitinib dose B once daily for 52 weeks.

    Treatment: Upadacitinib

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
A Phase 3 Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Study to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety of Upadacitinib in Adult and Adolescent Subjects With Alopecia Areata and at Least 25% Scalp Hair Loss
Record updated
30 July 2026