RINVOQ shows continued repigmentation through 76 weeks in nonsegmental vitiligo
Posted on October 4, 2026
AbbVie has reported new long term Phase III findings showing continued facial and total body repigmentation with RINVOQ, also known as upadacitinib, in patients with nonsegmental vitiligo.
The data come from the ongoing Viti Up 1 and Viti Up 2 studies and were presented in a late breaking oral session at the 2026 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress in Vienna.
RINVOQ is currently the first and only systemic medicine approved in the European Union for adults and adolescents aged 12 years and older with nonsegmental vitiligo who are candidates for systemic treatment.
Following completion of the 48 week placebo controlled period of Viti Up 1 and Viti Up 2, patients either continued treatment with RINVOQ 15 mg once daily in an open label extension or entered a separate phototherapy substudy.
Among patients who remained on RINVOQ, rates of facial and total body repigmentation continued to improve between weeks 48 and 76.
In Viti Up 1, the proportion of patients achieving at least a 75% improvement in Facial Vitiligo Area Scoring Index increased from 33.1% at week 48 to 55.1% at week 76.
The proportion achieving at least a 50% improvement in Total Vitiligo Area Scoring Index increased from 29.2% to 42.5% over the same period.
Similar trends were observed in Viti Up 2.
Facial VASI 75 responses increased from 27.6% at week 48 to 47.4% at week 76, while Total VASI 50 responses rose from 26.2% to 40.1%.
Kori Wallace, MD, PhD, Vice President and Global Head of Immunology Clinical Development at AbbVie, said vitiligo can affect skin across multiple parts of the body and can progress unpredictably.
She said the latest findings support the potential for RINVOQ to provide meaningful longer term repigmentation in patients with nonsegmental vitiligo.
AbbVie also presented results from a separate phototherapy substudy involving 84 adults who had not achieved at least 90% improvement in Total VASI by week 48.
Participants were rerandomised to receive RINVOQ 15 mg once daily either alone or in combination with whole body narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy twice weekly for 28 weeks.
All treatment groups experienced improvements in facial and total body repigmentation.
However, numerical response rates were higher among patients receiving RINVOQ together with narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy than among those receiving RINVOQ alone.
Among patients who had previously received placebo during the main study, Facial VASI 75 was achieved by 40.0% of those receiving RINVOQ alone and 46.7% of those receiving the combination.
Total VASI 50 response rates in these groups were 20.0% and 33.3% respectively.
Among patients who had previously received RINVOQ during the main study, Facial VASI 75 was achieved by 37.0% with continued RINVOQ alone compared with 59.3% when narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy was added.
Total VASI 50 was achieved by 33.3% of patients receiving RINVOQ alone and 63.0% receiving the combination.
Julien Seneschal, MD, PhD, Professor of Dermatology at the National Reference Center for Rare Skin Diseases at the University of Bordeaux, said the findings expand understanding of repigmentation with continued RINVOQ treatment.
He added that the phototherapy substudy provides early evidence on combining narrowband ultraviolet B treatment with an approved systemic JAK inhibitor in nonsegmental vitiligo.
Safety findings through week 76 in Viti Up 1 and Viti Up 2 remained consistent with the established profile of upadacitinib.
No new safety signals were identified in either the long term extension or the 28 week phototherapy substudy.
The European approval of RINVOQ for nonsegmental vitiligo was based on results from the Viti Up Phase III programme at week 48.
The treatment is also currently under regulatory review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for this indication.
Related Topics and Keywords
AbbVie, Biopharma, clinical trials, dermatology, EADV 2026, Immunology, JAK inhibitor, NB UVB, nonsegmental vitiligo, pharma news, phase III, phototherapy, repigmentation, rinvoq, upadacitinib, Viti Up 1, Viti Up 2, Vitiligo
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