Brett King, MD, PhD

At the 2025 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in Orlando, the HCPLive editorial team spoke with Brett King, MD, PhD—associate professor of dermatology at the Yale University School of Medicine Department of Dermatology—about his team’s late-breaking data on bempikibart for those with severe 

The findings from the SIGNAL-AA phase 2a study on bempikibart, a drug formerly known as ADX-914, highlight the medication’s efficacy among patients in terms of Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) scores and other related results. Among participants who responded that finished the treatment period and demonstrated a SALT response, all were shown to have achieved maintenance of response or additional regrowth of hair during their post-treatment timeframe.

Late-Breaking Data on Bempikibart for Severe Alopecia Areata, with Brett King, MD, PhD

“Yeah, so the study is of an antibody called ADX-914, or bempikibart, and this is an anti-IL-7Rα antibody that ultimately blocks or mediates signaling of IL-7 and TSLP to cytokines that may be very important in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata,” King explained. “And in this randomized, double blind placebo placebo-controlled clinical trial of patients with severe alopecia areata, that is a SALT score 50 to 100, we saw some provocative results.”

King was asked to highlight some of the most notable findings among patients with severe alopecia areata treated with bempikibart.

“I think what's really fun about this clinical trial and its results is not so much what we saw over 24 weeks, which was the time period during which the primary endpoint was measured,” King said. “The primary endpoint being a SALT score less than or equal to 20 is very similar to other clinical trials in patients with severe alopecia areata, but it is the results in follow-up over the next 12 to 24 weeks. What we saw was a signal for efficacy which is provocative.”

King noted that this was because the drug was no longer being dosed, adding that the notion that at longer periods without dosing, to see efficacy signals is unlike most of what investigators have seen to date in clinical trials of JAK inhibitors, for example.

“Wiith JAK inhibitors, typically, when you withdraw a drug over a period of 12 to 24 weeks, you see loss of efficacy beginning really around week 4 or 8,” King said. “So it’s a really interesting, brand new molecule and brand new mechanism of action in alopecia areata. And these are really interesting results which are different than what we've seen to date with other medicines.”

According to King, data collection is ongoing and the open-label extension is planned for around the first half of 2025.

To learn more about bempikibart for alopecia areata, view the full interview posted above. For more late-breakers from AAD 2025, view our 

The quotes contained in this video summary were edited for clarity. King has reported personal fees from Eli Lilly, Sun, and Pfizer and his spouse has served as a consultant, speaker, and advisory board member for Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Sun.

King B, et al. Initial Results From The SIGNAL-AA Study: Randomized Placebo Controlled Phase 2a Trial of a Bempikibart. Late-breaking data presented at the 2025 American Acamdey of Dermatology Annual Meeting. March 8, 2025.

Videos

This interview covers the findings presented at AAD 2025 from the SIGNAL-AA study on bempikibart for alopecia areata.

What to Look Forward to at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting 2025

American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) 2025 Annual Meeting

 editorial team interviewed 4 leading experts in the field of dermatology to describe the elements of AAD to which they are most looking forward.

The meeting is slated for March 7 - 11 in Orlando, Florida, and will feature a variety of sessions on different topics and covering various disease states such as 

, atopic dermatitis, hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), and alopecia areata, as well as cosmetic and aesthetic dermatology discussions. It will also highlight late-breaking data and provide clinicians and health care professionals with the opportunity to network and meet others in the field.

The team spoke with Linda Stein Gold, MD, vice president of the American Academy of Dermatology and the head of the division of dermatology for the Henry Ford Health System, about her views on AAD 2025. We also interviewed Arash Mostaghimi, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of dermatology, the director of the inpatient dermatology consult service, and the co-director of the Complex Medical Dermatology Fellowship at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

Additionally, the team interviewed Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School and the founder and director of the Center for Medical Dermatology + Immunology Research in Chicago. Lastly, we spoke with Brett King, MD, PhD, an associate professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine. All 4 of these speakers highlighted what they are most looking forward to at the conference.

 I'm looking forward to the AAD in general this year. I think it's a great location. When you look at the sessions, they're really full of the latest and the newest in research, whether that's atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, HS, vitiligo, or alopecia. I think there's so much going on, and I think it's going to be a really great meeting.

So, despite my academic roots, what I love at AAD is seeing my friends and colleagues from all different places and connecting with trainees, old residents, old medical students, and things along those lines. That's my guilty pleasure. But from a scientific standpoint and a symposium standpoint, it's amazing to look at the progress we've made with new medications across a number of disorders over the last few years, and I look forward to seeing what's coming down the pike to give us better care for our patients.

AAD is everything to everyone. It can be any number of exciting factors. For me, a lot of it stems from just the latest cuts of phase 1, 2, and 3 trials that we've been waiting excitedly to see. As someone who participates in many of these studies and works in them, in many ways, it's always really fun to see the fruition of results. Because sometimes you get a home run, sometimes you hit a double, and sometimes it's a strikeout. That's just the nature of science and clinical investigation. So really, a lot of those late breakers across many different immune-mediated diseases are what's exciting for me.

What is so exciting about AAD is that we have everything from educational, 3-hour long and 1-hour long deep dives into disease states. It is a time when you can come and really learn from A - Z about a disease. At the same time, these late-breaking sessions are truly where our future is presented to us. So you have everything from where we're coming from and what we know today to what we're going to be doing in 5 or 10 years. And that's really, for me, the excitement of the AAD.

To stay updated on the late-breaking data and interviews our team covers at AAD 2025, check out our 

The quotes contained in this interview summary were edited for the purposes of clarity.

This summary, featuring 4 leading experts, provides an overview of what dermatologists may look forward to during the AAD 2025 Annual Meeting.

To watch the video series component of this episode, click here.

Podcasts

In this MEDcast episode, Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, and George Han, MD, PhD, interview Brett King, MD, PhD, to discuss the latest advances in the treatment of alopecia areata.

Recent Advances in the Treatment of Alopecia Areata

Expert dermatologists discuss the importance of continued education for physicians treating patients with alopecia areata.

Brett King, MD, PhD

Articles