Category Archives: Eli Lilly

Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly Target Hair Loss Market

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Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly focus on hair loss market.

During the past year, I have read a number of articles comparing the recent obesity GLP-1 drug boom versus a near future hair loss drug boom. After the highly successful February 2026 IPO of hair loss treatment company Veradermics (US), its CEO pointed out that his company benefited from the obesity drug boom:

“Weight loss showed the playbook and viability of a cash-pay, consumer-directed market and gave investors and gave us conviction that hair loss could be the next weight loss.”

Ironically, GLP-1 weight loss drugs often cause temporary telogen effluvium hair loss.

The two companies that currently dominate the global weight loss prescription drug market are:

  1. Novo Nordisk (Denmark). Maker of Ozempic and Wegovy (semaglutide). Earlier this month, the company rebranded itself to Novo.
  2. Eli Lilly (US). Maker of Mounjaro and Zepbound (tirzepatide). The company is often just called Lilly. It is one of only around 20 companies in the world with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion.

However, competition is increasing significantly with patent expirations and the approval of pills, longer-lasting injections and newer generation GLP-1 drugs. The latter cause fewer side effects, greater weight loss and/or lead to longer lasting results.

Novo Nordisk to Enter Hair Loss Sector

Yesterday, Novo Nordisk (called Novo as of this month) made a big announcement that it was considering entering the hair loss market. With increasing competition in the weight loss sector, the underdeveloped hair loss segment is ripe for pickings. Only two hair loss drugs have ever been approved by the US FDA: Minoxidil (Rogaine) in 1988 and Finasteride (Propecia) in 1997. A third one based on the ingredient Clascoterone might get approved in 2027.

The smart people of Reddit suggest buying Novo’s shares if the totally bald company CEO is ever seen with a head of hair.

Eli Lilly Increases Footprint in Hair Loss Sector

I have discussed Eli Lilly’s increasing activity in the hair loss sector a number of time in the past year.

  • In August 2026, Eli Lilly led a group that invested $26 million in US-based Amplifica.
  • In June 2026, Eli Lilly led a group that invested $100 million in US-based Absci.
  • In February 2026, Eli Lilly purchased 4.9% stake in US-based Veradermics.
  • Eli Lilly has been considering investing in the hair and skin regeneration segment of OliX Pharmaceuticals (South Korea). This is after they paid OliX $630 million in 2025 for rights to the company’s metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) drug candidate.

Also of significance, Lilly makes Olumiant (baricitinib), an oral JAK inhibitor pill that was approved by the FDA in 2022 to treat adults with severe alopecia areata (AA). The vast majority (around 95%) of hair loss is due androgenetic alopecia (AGA). This is also called male and female pattern hair loss. However, unlike AGA treatments minoxidil and finasteride, the new JAK inhibitor treatments for AA are often miraculous in re-growing hair in totally bald regions of the scalp.

For those who invest in the stock market, make sure to check out my post on hair loss company stocks.

Alopecia Areata, Baricitinib, Eli Lilly, JAK Inhibitors, Olumiant

Baricitinib (Olumiant) Approved by FDA for Alopecia Areata

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Around 90-95 percent of people with hair loss suffer from androgenetic alopecia (AGA), also known as male pattern baldness. Just 1-2 percent suffer from alopecia areata (AA), aka patchy hair loss due to an autoimmune problem.

However, in recent years, alopecia areata (and the related alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis) have been in the news almost every week. Most of the coverage tracks miraculous before and after hair growth results via the use of JAK inhibitors. I covered this subject close to ten times a few years ago. More than 300,000 Americans currently live with severe alopecia areata.

FDA Approves Baricitinib for Alopecia Areata

Yesterday, the US FDA approved Olumiant (baricitinib) oral tablets to treat adult patients with severe alopecia areata. This drug is sold by Eli Lilly and Incyte. This once-a-day pill is the first ever approved in-disease systemic treatment for adults with severe alopecia areata (AA). Monthly cost without insurance will be $2,500.

Olumiant is a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor that blocks the activity of a family of enzymes. This in turn interferes with the pathway that leads to inflammation in alopecia areata. Note that Olumiant is already approved for treating moderate and severe rheumatoid arthritis. It is available in 4 mg, 2 mg and 1 mg tablets (with the recommended dose for AA being 2 mg per day).

The approval for alopecia areata was based on Lilly’s BRAVE-AA1 and BRAVE-AA2 trials. These were the largest Phase 3 clinical trials ever completed in humans suffering from AA. Both trials were led by Yale University’s Dr. Brett King.

Patients in the Lilly study experienced relatively mild side effects, including slightly increased risk of acne, urinary tract infections and other infections. Those side effects were easily treatable or improved without treatment. Around one-half of patients regrew their hair after one year of treatment.

Baricitinib Hair Growth
Baricitinib Hair Growth in Alopecia Areata Patients. Before and After. Source: Dr. Brett King et al in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Note that it was Aclaris Therapeutics which originally got the patent rights for the use of baricitinib in treating hair loss in 2017. Earlier this year, I also discussed some phenomenal baricitinib hair growth results. The before and after photos (seen above) are courtesy of Dr. Brett King and his work.

JAK Inhibitors

A number of other JAK inhibitors have shown impressive results in treating alopecia totalis and universalis. Among the more famous of these include ruxolitinib, tofacitinib and decernotinib. See all my past posts covering JAK inhibitors for more details.

Pfizer (Ritlecitinib) and Concert Pharmaceuticals (CTP-543) are also planning to release JAK inhibitors to treat alopecia areata in the near future.