Cortexolone 17α-Propionate (Clascoterone) is an Androgen Receptor Antagonist in Dermal Papilla Cells In Vitro

February 2019 | Volume 18 | Issue 2 | Original Article | 197 | Copyright © February 2019


Caridad Rosette PhD,a Niccolette Rosette MS,a Alessandro Mazzetti MD,b Luigi Moro PhD,c Mara Gerloni PhDa

aBellatrix Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA bCassiopea SpA, Lainate, Italy cCosmo Pharmaceuticals NV, Dublin, Ireland

Abstract
Cortexolone 17α-propionate (clascoterone) is a novel androgen antagonist that is currently being analyzed in a large phase 2 clinical trial for the topical treatment of androgenetic alopecia (AGA). While the pathogenesis of AGA is still debated, the consensus is that AGA is an androgen-dependent hair disorder with strong genetic links, and that the testosterone metabolite, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), plays a causal role in its development. DHT binds to the androgen receptor (AR) in scalp dermal papilla cells (DPC) to induce AR-mediated transcription of genes that contribute to AGA in genetically predisposed individuals. Several studies have established that clascoterone is a potent antiandrogen that is well tolerated and has selective topical activity. The study described herein elucidates a potential mechanism of clascoterone in AGA. Clascoterone was found to inhibit AR-regulated transcription in a reporter cell line with similar efficacy to the 5α-reductase inhibitor, finasteride. More importantly, when compared with another direct AR antagonist, enzalutamide, clascoterone was significantly better at inhibiting IL-6 synthesis from DHT-stimulated primary cultures of human scalp DPC. Therefore, clascoterone may be an excellent candidate to be the first topical antiandrogen for treating AGA. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(2):197-201.