AbbVie has announced results from the ongoing phase 3 Viti-Up-1 and Viti-Up-2 studies of Rinvoq (upadacitinib; 15mg once daily) in non-segmental vitiligo (NSV), showing continued facial and total body repigmentation through week 76.
Presented at the 2026 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress, data also included week-28 findings from a phototherapy substudy, in which treatment groups receiving Rinvoq plus whole-body narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy showed numerically higher repigmentation responses than groups receiving Rinvoq alone.
“Vitiligo is a chronic, unpredictable disease that can affect skin across the body, underscoring the need for systemic treatment options that go beyond addressing individual areas,” said Kori Wallace, vice president, global head of immunology clinical development, AbbVie. “The data supports that Rinvoq can provide meaningful long-term repigmentation for patients with vitiligo and provide an early foundation for further research into its combination with NB-UVB phototherapy.”
“These findings are important for physicians treating people with vitiligo because they extend understanding of repigmentation with continued Rinvoq treatment and provide the first data on combining NB-UVB with an approved systemic JAK inhibitor,” said Julien Seneschal, professor of dermatology at the National Reference Center for Rare Skin Diseases, University of Bordeaux, France. “This research opens an important path for further investigation into how combination approaches could evolve to support patient care in non-segmental vitiligo.”
Rinvoq is the first and only systemic medication approved in the European Union for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients 12 years and older with NSV who are candidates for systemic therapy. The approval was based on results from the phase 3 Viti-Up clinical program at week 48 versus placebo. The use of RINVOQ in non-segmental vitiligo is under regulatory review by the US FDA.