Etrasimod
Development of Etrasimod for alopecia areata was discontinued by Pfizer.
An S1P receptor modulator, approved in ulcerative colitis in the US and EU, that missed in a Phase 2 in alopecia areata and was dropped for it.
This programme is no longer being actively pursued.
- Developed by
- Pfizer
- Current phase
- Discontinued
- Mechanism
- Immunomodulator
- Indications
- Alopecia areata
- Also known as
- APD334, Velsipity
- Last public activity
- June 2024
- Copy last reviewed
- September 2026
- Record confidence
- Medium
Development stopped.
Retunes the immune system more broadly than a single pathway.
A research record, not medical advice: being listed here says nothing about whether a treatment works or whether it is right for you. Talk to a dermatologist about your own case.
Why it matters
S1P modulators work by keeping lymphocytes in the lymph nodes rather than letting them circulate into tissue, an entirely different way of stopping an attack on the follicle from blocking a cytokine signal or depleting a cell type. The 80-patient Phase 2, published in 2025, found mean SALT changes at week 24 of minus 13.8% on 2 mg and minus 21.4% on 3 mg against 0.35% on placebo, neither statistically superior, and the authors state that the alopecia areata programme has been discontinued. It stays in the register because a class tested and dropped is information the next S1P programme, NXC736, inherits.
Development history
- Phase 2
First Phase 2 trial on record: NCT04556734 — Safety and Efficacy of Oral Etrasimod in Adult Participants With Moderate-to-Severe Alopecia Areata
ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Registered trials
Pulled automatically from ClinicalTrials.gov. Matching is by name and development code, so occasional gaps are possible — tell us if you spot one.
Safety and Efficacy of Oral Etrasimod in Adult Participants With Moderate-to-Severe Alopecia Areata
Pfizer · n=80 · July 2020
Listing a trial is not a recommendation to join one. Eligibility, risks and costs vary enormously — discuss any trial with your own doctor first.
Sources
- Etrasimod (APD334) in alopecia areata — ClinicalTrials.gov
- VELSIPITY (etrasimod) tablets, US prescribing information (openFDA) — Regulator filing
- Etrasimod in moderate to severe alopecia areata: a Phase 2 randomised trial, King et al. — Peer-reviewed, March 2025
- Velsipity (etrasimod), European public assessment report — Regulator filing, February 2024
Related programmes
Other programmes in the register with the same mechanism: Immunomodulator.
Cite this page
Hair Pipeline, "Etrasimod — development record", hairpipeline.com/pipeline/etrasimod-aa