Litfulo

What is Litfulo?

Litfulo is the first FDA-approved treatment for severe alopecia areata in both adults and adolescents. It’s an oral capsule taken once a day that can help generate significant hair regrowth within just six months.^[1]

Alopecia areata is a chronic autoimmune condition where your immune cells attack your hair follicles. This eventually causes your hair follicles to die, resulting in hair loss.^[2] Because alopecia areata is a complicated disease with a number of factors that contribute to hair loss, scientists have so-far been unable to find a cure. However, there are treatments that can protect your hair follicles from further damage. One treatment that’s shown promising results in restoring hair loss is Ritlecitinib, the active ingredient in Litfulo.

How does Litfulo work?

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition where your immune cells mistakenly attack your hair cells, leading to hair loss. There are many reasons why this happens, and one key factor is the JAK/STAT signalling pathway in your immune system.

The JAK/STAT pathway sends signals to your immune system to activate it. In many autoimmune conditions, like alopecia areata, these pathways are uncontrolled and unregulated, resulting in unintended signals being sent to immune cells. This can prompt your immune system to attack your hair cells, causing them to fall out.^[3]

Ritlecitinib, the active ingredient is Litfulo, can stop these signals from being sent. It works by binding to the proteins in the JAK/STAT pathway, which blocks them from sending any unintended signals.^[3] This prevents your immune cells from attacking your hair follicles — reducing hair loss.

What doses of Litfulo are there?

There’s only a 50mg dose of Litfulo available. A daily dose of 50mg is taken until you’re happy with your results or your clinician thinks it’s best to stop. But to make sure you’re safe throughout your treatment, you’ll be monitored with regular blood checkups.

How to take Litfulo

Swallow one capsule of Litfulo whole with water, with or without food. Don’t crush or chew it, as this can affect how well it works.

Once you’ve started treatment with Litfulo, don’t stop before chatting with your clinician about it. This is so your clinician can decide what steps to take to prevent you from losing your hair again. Although the risk of losing your hair is low, not taking Litfulo for more than six weeks can increase this risk.

What should I do if I make a mistake when taking Litfulo?

If you accidentally miss a dose, and there are more than eight hours until your next dose, take it as soon as you remember. But, if there are less than eight hours till your next dose, skip the missed dose and carry on with your normal dosing schedule.

If you take more than the recommended dose, contact your doctor for medical advice. You might experience some of the side effects listed in the patient information leaflet.

How long does Litfulo take to work?

People saw significant hair growth in less than six months of taking Litfulo, with 23% of those finding 80% of their scalp hair growing.^[1] However, it’s important to remember that everyone is different. So the results someone else gets might be different from your results.