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NCT Number: NCT07772492

A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Effectiveness of Upadacitinib in Pediatric Participants With Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata (AA) is a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. AA usually affects the scalp and face, but hair loss can happen on any hair-bearing part of the body. Some treatment options are available for adults and adolescents with AA, however there is still high unmet need for systemic treatments (treatment that moves throughout the bloodstream) approved for young patients with AA. Treatments may not work for all patients or may stop working over time. Because of this, researchers are developing new AA treatments, like upadacitinib. Upadacitinib is a type of medicine called a Janus- Kinase (JAK) inhibitor and works with the body to fight the inflammation that can cause AA. In this study, different doses (amounts) of upadacitinib are being compared to treatment with placebo (looks like the study treatment but contains no medicine).

Upadacitinib is an investigational JAK inhibitor being developed for the treatment of severe alopecia areata in pediatric patients. This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Participants are placed in 3 groups, called treatment arms. Each group receives a different treatment. There is a 1 in 5 chance that participants will be assigned to placebo. Pediatric participants with a diagnosis of severe alopecia areata with SALT score ≥ 50 scalp hair loss will be enrolled. Participants will be at least 6 years old at Screening and less than 18 years old at Baseline. Approximately 300 participants will be enrolled in the study at approximately 120 sites worldwide.

Participants will receive oral doses of upadacitinib or matching placebo daily, or twice daily, for approximately 160 weeks. The study comprises a 35-day Screening Period, a 24-week placebo-controlled double-blinded treatment period (Period A), a 28-week blinded extension treatment period (Period B), a 108-week blinded long-term extension period (Period C), and a 30-day follow-up period.

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Severe Alopecia Areata Alopecia Alopecia Areata Hair Diseases Hypotrichosis Skin Diseases Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Age range

6 year–17 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 3

Primary location

Sydney Children's Hospital /ID# 283490, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia

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Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Participants must have a diagnosis of severe alopecia areata with SALT score >= 50 scalp hair loss at Screening and Baseline
  • No spontaneous scalp hair regrowth over the past 6 months
  • Participants will have current episode of alopecia areata of less than 8 years

Exclusion criteria

  • Participants must not have a current diagnosis of primarily diffuse type of alopecia areata
  • Participants must not have a diagnosis of other types of alopecia that would interfere with evaluation of alopecia areata, including but not limited to female pattern hair loss, male pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) Stage III or greater, traction alopecia, lichen planopilaris, discoid lupus, frontal fibrosing alopecia, central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia, folliculitis decalvans, trichotillomania, and telogen effluvium
  • Participants must not have a diagnosis of other types of inflammatory scalp, eyebrow, or eyelash disorders that would interfere with evaluation of alopecia areata, including but not limited to seborrheic dermatitis, scalp psoriasis, AD, and tinea capitis

Treatment and study plan

Upadacitinib

Drug

Oral

Placebo

Drug

Oral

Primary outcomes

  1. Percentage of Participants with the Achievement of Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) Score <= 20, defined as less than or equal to 20% scalp hair loss.

    Time frame: At Week 24

    The SALT is a global AA severity score based on the combination of extent and density of scalp hair loss. The score is determined by visually defining the amount of terminal hair loss in each of the 4 views of the scalp (left and right side each accounting for 18% of scalp area, the top for 40%, and the back for 24%) and adding these together with a maximum score of 100%.

  2. Number of Participants with Adverse Events (AEs)

    Time frame: Up to Week 160

    An AE is defined as any untoward medical occurrence in a patient or clinical investigation in which a participant is administered a pharmaceutical product which does not necessarily have a causal relationship with this treatment.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Percentage of Participants Achieving SALT Score <= 10

    Time frame: At Week 24

    The SALT is a global AA severity score based on the combination of extent and density of scalp hair loss. The score is determined by visually defining the amount of terminal hair loss in each of the 4 views of the scalp (left and right side each accounting for 18% of scalp area, the top for 40%, and the back for 24%) and adding these together with a maximum score of 100%.

  2. Percentage of Participants Achieving SALT Score <= 20

    Time frame: At Week 12

    The SALT is a global AA severity score based on the combination of extent and density of scalp hair loss. The score is determined by visually defining the amount of terminal hair loss in each of the 4 views of the scalp (left and right side each accounting for 18% of scalp area, the top for 40%, and the back for 24%) and adding these together with a maximum score of 100%.

  3. Percentage of Participants with the Achievement of Clinician-Reported Outcome (ClinRO) Measure for Eyebrow Hair Loss of 0 or 1

    Time frame: At Week 24

    The ClinRO for Eyebrow Hair Loss is a 4-point response scale where 0 = The eyebrows have full coverage and no areas of hair loss and 3 = No notable eyebrows. Responses should have a ≥ 2-point improvement from Baseline among participants with Baseline score ≥ 2.

  4. Percentage of Participants with the Achievement of Clinician-Reported Outcome (ClinRO) Measure for Eyelash Hair Loss of 0 or 1

    Time frame: At Week 24

    The ClinRO for Eyelash Hair Loss is a 4-point response scale where 0 = The eyelashes form a continuous line along the eyelids on both eyes and 3 = No notable eyelashes. Responses should have a ≥ 2-point improvement from Baseline among participants with Baseline score ≥ 2.

  5. Percentage of Participants Achieving SALT Score 0

    Time frame: AT Week 24

    The SALT is a global AA severity score based on the combination of extent and density of scalp hair loss. The score is determined by visually defining the amount of terminal hair loss in each of the 4 views of the scalp (left and right side each accounting for 18% of scalp area, the top for 40%, and the back for 24%) and adding these together with a maximum score of 100%.

  6. Percentage of Participants with the Achievement of Patients' Global Impression of Change of Alopecia Areata (PaGIC-AA) Score of 1 "Much Better" or 2 "Moderately Better" (in participants who are 12 years and older at the time of baseline visit)

    Time frame: At Week 24

    The PaGIC-AA is a single-item measure that asks participants to rate how their alopecia condition has changed overall since the start of the study using a 7-point scale. Responses range from "much better" to "much worse."

  7. Percentage of Participants with the Achievement of Patients' Caregiver Global Impression of Change (CaGIC-AA) Score of 1 "Much Better" or 2 "Moderately Better" (In Participants 6-11 Years Old at the time of baseline visit)

    Time frame: At Week 24

    The CaGIC-AA is a single-item measure that asks care givers of participants to rate how their alopecia condition has changed overall since the start of the study using a 7-point scale. Responses range from "much better" to "much worse."

  8. Percentage of Participants with a Change From Baseline in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) Score (In Participants 12 Years and Older)

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24

    The HADS is a self-administered scale which measures anxiety and depression. It contains 14 items and is comprised of anxiety (7 items) and depression (7 items) subscales, which are scored separately and summed to give a total score. Item scores range from 0 (best) to 3 (worst), and total scores are categorized as normal (0 to 7), borderline abnormal (8 to 10), and abnormal (11 to 21).

  9. Percentage of Participants with a Change From Baseline in Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) Score

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24

    The CDLQI is a 10-item, validated questionnaire used in clinical practice and clinical trials to assess the impact of dermatological disease symptoms and treatment on quality of life. The CDLQI has been validated for use in Participants 4 to 16 years of age. It consists of 10 questions assessing impact of skin diseases on different aspects of quality of life over the prior week. The CDLQI items include symptoms and feelings, daily activities, leisure, school, relationships, sleep, and treatment. Each item is scored on a 4-point scale: 0 = not at all; 1 = only a little; 2 = quite a lot; and 3 = very much. Item scores (0 to 3) are added to provide a total score range of 0 to 30; higher scores indicate greater impairment of quality of life.

  10. Percentage of Participants with a Change From Baseline in Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Parent Proxy Depressive Symptoms Short Form 6a Score (In Participants 6-11 Years Old)

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24

    The PROMIS Parent Proxy Depressive Symptoms - SF6a is a caregiver report questionnaire designed to assess depressive symptoms in pediatric populations. It consists of 6 items that measure core aspects of mood, thoughts, and behaviors related to depression, as observed by the caregiver over the past 7 days. Caregivers are asked to rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 'Never' to 'Almost Always'. Higher scores reflect greater severity of depressive symptoms.

  11. Percentage of Participants with a Change From Baseline in PROMIS Pediatric Depressive Symptoms Short Form 8a Score (In Participants 12 Years and Older)

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24

    The PROMIS Pediatric Depressive Symptoms - SF8a is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess depressive symptoms in pediatric populations. It consists of 8 items focused on core aspects of mood, thoughts, and behaviors related to depression. Respondents rate each item based on their experiences over the past 7 days using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 'Never' to 'Almost Always'. Higher scores indicate greater severity of depressive symptoms

  12. Percentage of Participants with a Change From Baseline in PROMIS Parent Proxy Anxiety Short Form 8a Score (In Participants 6-11 Years Old)

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24

    The PROMIS Pediatric Anxiety - SF8a is a caregiver report questionnaire designed to assess anxiety symptoms in pediatric populations. It consists of 8 items that measure core aspects of worry, fear, and other anxiety-related feelings and behaviors as observed by the parent or caregiver. Each item item rated based on experiences over the past 7 days using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 'Never' to 'Almost Always'. Higher scores reflect greater severity of anxiety symptoms

  13. Percentage of Participants with a Change From Baseline in PROMIS Pediatric Anxiety Short Form 8a Score (In Participants 12 Years and Older)

    Time frame: Baseline (Week 0) through Week 24

    The PROMIS Pediatric Anxiety - SF8a is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess anxiety symptoms in pediatric populations. It consists of 8 items that measure core aspects of worry, fear, and other anxiety-related feelings and behaviors. Respondents rate each item based on their experiences over the past 7 days using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 'Never' to 'Almost Always'. Higher scores reflect greater severity of anxiety symptoms

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

ABBVIE CALL CENTER

CONTACT

[email protected]

844-663-3742

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

AbbVie

Industry

Registry information

Official study title

A Phase 3 Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Study to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety of Upadacitinib in Pediatric Subjects With Severe Alopecia Areata

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2032
Study completion
2032
First posted
Aug 19, 2026
Registry last updated
Aug 19, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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