Setipiprant
Development of Setipiprant for androgenetic alopecia was discontinued by AbbVie.
An oral PGD2 blocker that tested an emerging theory of male pattern baldness in a controlled trial, and failed.
This programme is no longer being actively pursued.
- Developed by
- AbbVie
- Current phase
- Discontinued
- Mechanism
- Prostaglandin
- Indications
- Androgenetic alopecia
- Also known as
- KYTH-105, ACT-129968, AGN-241679
- Last public activity
- April 2019
- Copy last reviewed
- September 2026
- Record confidence
- High
Development stopped.
Acts on prostaglandins, lipid messengers that can lengthen or shorten the hair growth cycle.
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.
How it is meant to work
Prostaglandin D2 is elevated in balding scalp, and blocking its CRTH2 receptor was expected to release follicles from that signal. Setipiprant had already been through nine Actelion trials for allergic inflammation, so its safety was known before Kythera filed to test it for hair loss in 2015.
Why it matters
The most direct test the field has had of the PGD2 hypothesis, and it came back negative: at week 24 the registry's posted result has the drug adding 7.1 terminal hairs/cm² against placebo's 6.7 (p=0.92), missing both co-primary endpoints. It stays in the register because that null result is the informative part: a mechanism with a published rationale did not survive a controlled trial. No sponsor ever announced the programme was stopped; the results were posted in 2019 and published in 2021, the drug no longer appears in Allergan's pipeline, and the discontinued status here is read from that.
Development history
- Phase 2
First Phase 2 trial on record: NCT02781311 — A Safety and Efficacy Study of Setipiprant Tablets in Androgenetic Alopecia in Males
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.
A Safety and Efficacy Study of Setipiprant Tablets in Androgenetic Alopecia in Males
Allergan · n=169 · July 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.
Sources
- A Safety and Efficacy Study of Setipiprant Tablets in Androgenetic Alopecia in Males — ClinicalTrials.gov
- Setipiprant for Androgenetic Alopecia in Males: Results from a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2a Trial — Peer-reviewed, October 2021
- Allergan bolsters aesthetics unit with Exicure hair loss deal (setipiprant no longer in Allergan's pipeline) — Press, November 2019
- KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals Submits Investigational New Drug Application for KYTH-105 to Treat Androgenetic Alopecia — Company release, September 2015
Related programmes
Other programmes in the register with the same mechanism: Prostaglandin.
Home remedies that mention it
- Does castor oil regrow hair?
We found no study testing castor oil alone on hair growth in people, on the scalp, eyebrows or eyelashes.
Cite this page
Hair Pipeline, "Setipiprant — development record", hairpipeline.com/pipeline/setipiprant