Delgocitinib (LEO 124249)

A pan-JAK inhibitor, the same class as the oral drugs approved for alopecia areata, formulated as an ointment. Delgocitinib is approved elsewhere in dermatology — it is a marketed treatment for chronic hand eczema — so this is not a molecule that failed on safety.

The phase 2a randomised 31 patients with moderate-to-severe alopecia areata, and the difference in mean SALT improvement against vehicle at week 12 was not significant. The authors attributed it to the ointment not reaching deep enough into the scalp dermis — the target is right, the delivery is the problem, and that reading applies to every topical JAK proposed since. What makes the row worth keeping is what happened next: rather than being abandoned, the now-marketed cream has been picked up by academic investigators for the scarring alopecias, where the inflammation sits higher in the follicle. Two trials opened in 2026 — one recruiting in central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia and lichen planopilaris, one due in frontal fibrosing alopecia. Neither is sponsored by LEO Pharma.

1. January 2016
   Phase 2

   First Phase 2 trial on record: NCT02561585 — LEO 124249 Ointment in the Treatment of Alopecia Areata

   ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

• NCT07671157Phase 2NOT YET RECRUITING

  Phase 2 Open Label Trial of Delgocitinib 20 mg/g Cream in Subjects With Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (FFA)

  Maryanne Makredes Senna · n=30 · September 2026

• NCT07487948Phase 2RECRUITING

  Safety and Biomarker Responses of Delgocitinib (JAK1,2,3/TYK2 Inhibitor) in Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia and Lichen Planopilaris

  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · n=30 · May 2026

• NCT05332366Phase 2COMPLETED

  A Trial to Assess the Effect of Delgocitinib Cream 20 mg/g on the Molecular Signature, Safety, and Efficacy in Adults With Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia

  LEO Pharma · n=35 · April 2022

• NCT03325296Phase 2TERMINATED

  Efficacy of Twice Daily Application of LEO 124249 Ointment 30 mg/g for 12 Weeks on Eyebrow Alopecia Areata.

  LEO Pharma · n=13 · October 2017

• NCT02561585Phase 2COMPLETED

  LEO 124249 Ointment in the Treatment of Alopecia Areata

  LEO Pharma · n=40 · January 2016

Listing a trial is not a recommendation to join one. Eligibility, risks and costs vary enormously — discuss any trial with your own doctor first.

• Safety and Biomarker Responses of Delgocitinib in Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia and Lichen Planopilaris — ClinicalTrials.gov
• Phase 2 Open Label Trial of Delgocitinib 20 mg/g Cream in Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia — ClinicalTrials.gov
• LEO 124249 ointment in alopecia areata — ClinicalTrials.gov
• A phase 2a randomized vehicle-controlled multi-center study of the safety and efficacy of delgocitinib in subjects with moderate-to-severe alopecia areata — Peer-reviewed, March 2023