Kythera Biopharmaceuticals has struck two separate license agreements with Actelion Pharmaceuticals and the University of Pennsylvania for a potential novel treatment of hair loss. In the agreement with Actelion, Kythera gained licensing of the worldwide rights to setipiprant, a clinical-stage selective oral antagonist to the prostaglandin D² (PGD²) receptor. The anagen phase of the hair cycle was found to be extended through PGD² inhibitors, which promoted hair growth, the release stated.

Kythera Holdings also acquired exclusive worldwide rights to certain patent rights owned by the University of Pennsylvania covering the use of PGD²receptor antagonists for treating hair loss, which is often presented as androgenic alopecia. Kythera sponsored research at the University of Pennsylvania of George Cotsarelis, MD, who discovered the relationship between PGD² and hair loss, with results published in 2011, according to the release. Human proof of concept study is planned to establish setipiprant’s efficacy in treating male patients with androgenic alopecia, according to Kythera.