The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued US Patent No. 9,895,301, which is directed to methods related to the use and administration of a certain janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor for treating hair loss disorders. This newly allowed patent is owned by The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York and exclusively licensed to Aclaris and is the latest U.S. patent to issue in connection with Aclaris' JAK drug development program for hair loss disorders.

US Patent No. 9,895,301 covers the use of tofacitinib for inducing hair growth and for treating hair loss disorders such as alopecia areata and androgenetic alopecia (AGA), otherwise known as  male/female pattern hair loss. Additional issued claims pertain to methods of using tofacitinib to treat particular phenotypes of alopecia areata, as well as to treat other hair loss disorders. The ‘301 Patent contains 67 claims and expires in November 2031. 

“We are extremely pleased with the continued development of the patent portfolio we exclusively licensed from Columbia.  This new issuance continues to expand the breadth and depth of our JAK inhibitor intellectual property portfolio covering methods of use for certain JAK inhibitors for the treatment of hair loss disorders. The issuance of this patent is another step in the development of a robust patent portfolio relating to JAK inhibition and hair loss,” says Dr. Neal Walker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aclaris, in a news release.

Aclaris has exclusively licensed several patents and patent applications involving novel selective JAK 1/3 inhibitors, including a patent portfolio that covers Aclaris’ product candidates ATI-501 (formerly  ATI-50001) and ATI-502 (formerly ATI-50002), which are oral and topical formulations, respectively, also being developed as potential treatments for alopecia areata. In addition, Aclaris has exclusively licensed a patent portfolio from Columbia University directed to methods of using JAK inhibitors for the treatment of alopecia areata, AGA, and other dermatological conditions.  This portfolio includes the recently issued US patent discussed above, as well as issued US patents directed to methods of treating alopecia areata, AGA and other hair loss disorders by administering ruxolitinib, baricitinib, or decernotinib, and issued patent claims in Japan directed to pharmaceutical compositions comprising ruxolitinib, baricitinib, tofacitinib or other JAK inhibitors for use in treating alopecia areata, AGA and other hair loss disorders.