Roivant Announces Expansion of Brepocitinib Development Program with New Phase 2b/3 Trial in Lichen Planopilaris (LPP) and Phase 3 Study Results for Batoclimab in Thyroid Eye Disease (TED)
Rhea-AI Summary
Roivant (Nasdaq: ROIV) announced a new seamless Phase 2b/3 trial of brepocitinib in lichen planopilaris (LPP), enrolling first subjects in March 2026, and reported topline Phase 3 results for batoclimab in thyroid eye disease (TED) that failed to meet primary endpoints.
FDA Priority Review and a Q3 2026 PDUFA date were assigned to brepocitinib's NDA in dermatomyositis; additional Phase 3 milestones for related programs are expected H2 2026.
Positive
- Brepocitinib Phase 2b/3 LPP trial began enrollment March 2026
- FDA Priority Review granted to brepocitinib NDA in dermatomyositis
- PDUFA target action date set for Q3 2026
Negative
- Immunovant Phase 3 batoclimab studies in TED failed primary endpoint at Week 24
- Batoclimab development plans will be reviewed with partner HanAll
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
ROIV gained 0.51% with mixed biotech peers: larger declines in MRNA (-3.12%), modest moves in others, and no peers in the momentum scanner, indicating a stock-specific reaction.
Previous Clinical trial Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 03 | NDA Priority Review | Positive | -0.9% | FDA accepted brepocitinib NDA in dermatomyositis with Priority Review. |
| Feb 06 | Phase 2 CS data | Positive | +22.1% | Positive Phase 2 BEACON results for brepocitinib in cutaneous sarcoidosis. |
| Sep 17 | Phase 3 DM results | Positive | +7.8% | Phase 3 VALOR trial in dermatomyositis showed significant benefit vs placebo. |
| Dec 03 | Namilumab Phase 2 fail | Negative | -2.9% | Namilumab failed to show benefit in RESOLVE-Lung sarcoidosis study. |
| Dec 03 | Namilumab topline fail | Negative | -2.9% | Roivant reported RESOLVE-Lung namilumab trial did not meet endpoints. |
Clinical and regulatory trial news has mostly produced price moves aligned with the news tone, with one notable divergence on a positive Priority Review update.
Over the past two years, Roivant and Priovant have repeatedly highlighted brepocitinib’s progress, including positive Phase 3 VALOR data in dermatomyositis and positive Phase 2 results in cutaneous sarcoidosis, each linked to notable share gains of up to 22.14%. An FDA NDA acceptance with Priority Review in Q3 2026 modestly declined the stock. Earlier, failures in namilumab sarcoidosis studies saw small declines. Today’s brepocitinib LPP expansion and batoclimab TED miss fit this pattern of mixed but material clinical updates.
Historical Comparison
Past clinical trial and NDA updates for Roivant averaged a 4.65% move, with mostly aligned reactions and one divergence on a positive Priority Review headline.
Clinical news shows progression of brepocitinib from Phase 3 dermatomyositis success and NDA filing toward additional indications like cutaneous sarcoidosis, while namilumab was discontinued after Phase 2 failure.
Regulatory & Risk Context
Roivant has an effective Form S-3ASR shelf filed on October 3, 2025, permitting issuance of common shares up to $400.0 million via a Sales Agreement; as of filing, $0 had been used, leaving full registered capacity available.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement combines expansion of brepocitinib into lichen planopilaris with missed primary endpoints for batoclimab in thyroid eye disease, illustrating both pipeline breadth and asset-specific risk. Historical clinical updates have produced average moves of about 4.65%, with most reactions matching the news tone. Investors may focus on upcoming brepocitinib catalysts, IMVT-1402 Graves’ data expected in 2027, and Roivant’s effective $400.0 million shelf when assessing risk and capital needs.
Key Terms
phase 2b/3 medical
phase 3 medical
new drug application (NDA) regulatory
priority review regulatory
prescription drug user fee act (pdufa) regulatory
fcrn blocker medical
proptosis medical
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
- Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is a highly morbid inflammatory scalp disorder that causes generally irreversible scarring hair loss, often accompanied by profound pain, itch, and burning sensations; no FDA-approved therapies exist for LPP, highlighting a critical unmet therapeutic need
- LPP marks the fourth indication in brepocitinib’s expanding late-stage development program
- Multiple lines of evidence, including strong mechanistic rationale and clinically meaningful results in an investigator-initiated placebo-controlled study of brepocitinib in LPP, support rapid development of brepocitinib in this indication
- A seamless Phase 2b/3 potentially registrational trial of brepocitinib in LPP enrolled its first subjects in March 2026
- Immunovant’s Phase 3 studies of batoclimab in thyroid eye disease (TED) each failed to meet their primary endpoint; safety results were consistent with previous findings
- Patients in the TED studies demonstrated greater levels of proptosis improvement from baseline after the initial 12-week high-dose period than after the following 12-week low-dose period, supporting the benefit of deeper IgG suppression. The hyperthyroid patients in the TED studies showed similar response rates of thyroid hormone normalization to those seen in the batoclimab Phase 2 study in Graves’ disease
- Immunovant remains focused on rapid advancement of IMVT-1402 in multiple indications
- Roivant will host an investor call to discuss these updates today, April 2, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. ET
BASEL, Switzerland and LONDON and NEW YORK, April 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Roivant (Nasdaq: ROIV) today announced a new Phase 2b/3 clinical program for brepocitinib in lichen planopilaris (LPP), a highly morbid inflammatory scalp disorder affecting approximately 100,000 adults in the United States, and reported the topline results from Immunovant’s two Phase 3 (GO) clinical studies evaluating batoclimab as an investigational treatment for adults with active, moderate-to-severe thyroid eye disease (TED).
Brepocitinib in LPP
LPP inflammation targets the stem cell-rich bulge region of the hair follicle (the permanent portion responsible for hair growth), resulting in generally irreversible hair loss and permanent scarring. LPP is also associated with other burdensome symptoms, including pain, burning, itching, and scaling and an increased risk of comorbidities such as other autoimmune diseases and skin cancers. There are currently no FDA-approved therapies to treat LPP.
“Lichen planopilaris (LPP) is what my colleagues and I refer to as a ‘trichologic emergency,’” said Dr. Kristen Lo Sicco, Chief of the Skin and Cancer Unit at NYU Langone Health, Board Member of the Scarring Alopecia Foundation, and Associate Professor of Dermatology at the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “Absent early diagnosis and aggressive intervention, patients experience rapid hair loss that is generally irreversible, leaves permanent scarring, and is often accompanied by erythema, scaling, pain, itching and burning sensations. Untreated LPP also leads to increased risk of skin cancers and other comorbidities. Efficacious FDA-approved treatments are urgently needed.”
Priovant recently began enrolling subjects in a seamless Phase 2b/3 study of brepocitinib in LPP, with the first subjects enrolled in March 2026. This program marks Priovant’s fourth indication in late-stage clinical development, alongside dermatomyositis (DM), non-infectious uveitis (NIU) and cutaneous sarcoidosis (CS). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted Priority Review to brepocitinib’s New Drug Application (NDA) for DM and assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date in the third quarter of calendar year 2026. Topline Phase 3 data in NIU and Phase 3 study initiation in CS are expected in the second half of calendar year 2026.
“Expanding brepocitinib into lichen planopilaris continues our strategy of developing brepocitinib in highly morbid orphan conditions with limited treatment options and distinctive mechanistic benefits of dual JAK1/TYK2 inhibition,” said Ben Zimmer, Priovant CEO. “Moreover, as we look ahead to our expected product launch in DM in September, we see LPP as a strategic fit into a multi-indication rheum-derm rare disease franchise anchored by DM, with overlapping prescriber bases and thought leaders.”
Immunovant Phase 3 Studies in TED
Based on the pre-specified statistical analysis plan, the studies failed to meet their primary endpoint of ≥2mm proptosis responder rate at Week 24, following 12 weeks of high-dose and 12 weeks of low-dose batoclimab treatment. Safety results were consistent with previous findings, and no new safety signals were identified.
Patients in the TED studies had greater levels of proptosis improvement from baseline after the initial 12-week high-dose period than after the following 12-week low-dose period, supporting the benefit of deeper IgG suppression.
The subset of hyperthyroid patients in the TED studies showed similar response rates of thyroid hormone normalization to those seen in the batoclimab Phase 2 study in Graves’ disease.
Immunovant remains focused on rapidly advancing the clinical development of IMVT-1402, an investigational FcRn blocker, across multiple autoimmune diseases with significant unmet need, with Graves’ disease as a key strategic priority. Recent Phase 2 proof-of-concept data highlighted FcRn blockade as a potentially disease-modifying approach in Graves’ disease. Topline data from the potentially registrational studies of IMVT-1402 in Graves’ disease are expected in calendar year 2027.
Immunovant intends to review future plans for the development of batoclimab with its partner HanAll Biopharma Co., Ltd. (HanAll) and to provide an update on the program, in conjunction with HanAll, at a future date.
Investor Conference Call Information
Roivant will host a live conference call and webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 2, 2026, to discuss these updates.
To access the conference call by phone, please register online using this registration link. The presentation and webcast details will also be available under “Events & Presentations” in the Investors section of the Roivant website at https://investor.roivant.com/news-events/events. The archived webcast will be available on Roivant’s website after the conference call.
About Roivant
Roivant (Nasdaq: ROIV) is a biopharmaceutical company that aims to improve the lives of patients by accelerating the development and commercialization of medicines that matter. Roivant’s pipeline includes brepocitinib, a potent small molecule inhibitor of JAK1 and TYK2 in development for the treatment of dermatomyositis, non-infectious uveitis, cutaneous sarcoidosis and lichen planopilaris; IMVT-1402 and batoclimab, fully human monoclonal antibodies targeting FcRn in development across several IgG-mediated autoimmune indications; and mosliciguat, an inhaled sGC activator in development for pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease. We advance our pipeline by creating nimble subsidiaries or “Vants” to develop and commercialize our medicines and technologies. Beyond therapeutics, Roivant also incubates discovery-stage companies and health technology startups complementary to its biopharmaceutical business. For more information, visit https://roivant.com.
Roivant Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements in this press release may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which are usually identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and variations of such words or similar expressions. The words may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. We intend these forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act.
Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, and statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the clinical and therapeutic potential of our product candidates, the availability and success of topline results from our ongoing clinical trials and any commercial potential of our product candidates following applicable regulatory approvals. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events, results or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated in these statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors.
Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations and strategies as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that the plans, intentions, expectations or strategies will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and will be affected by a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, but not limited to, those risks set forth in the Risk Factors section of our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment in which new risks emerge from time to time. These forward-looking statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of our management as of the date of this press release, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts:
Investors
Keyur Parekh
keyur.parekh@roivant.com
Media
Stephanie Lee
stephanie.lee@roivant.com
FAQ
What did Roivant announce about brepocitinib in lichen planopilaris (LPP) on April 2, 2026 (ROIV)?
What were the topline results for batoclimab in thyroid eye disease (TED) reported April 2, 2026 (ROIV)?
What regulatory progress did Roivant report for brepocitinib (ROIV) on April 2, 2026?
How did patients respond during different dosing periods in the batoclimab TED Phase 3 studies (ROIV)?
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