Winlevi is a topical cream that treats acne by blocking androgen receptors right in the skin without changing hormone levels throughout the body. Its main ingredient, clascoterone, works locally on hair follicles and skin cells to stop the effects of dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, a hormone linked to acne and hair loss.
Clascoterone acts like a gatekeeper at the androgen receptors found in skin and scalp hair follicles. DHT normally binds to these receptors and triggers problems like inflamed acne or shrinking hair follicles in pattern baldness. When you apply Winlevi, clascoterone rushes in and grabs those receptors first, pushing DHT away. This blocks DHT’s harmful signals without the drug entering the bloodstream in large amounts.
The key to Winlevi’s safety is its design for local action only. After you rub it on, clascoterone stays mostly in the treated skin area. It breaks down quickly through natural metabolism in the skin, so very little reaches the rest of the body. This means no big shifts in overall testosterone or DHT levels, unlike pills that travel everywhere and can cause side effects like low libido.
Winlevi got FDA approval in 2021 as a 1% cream for acne in people 12 and older. It has filled over 1.6 million prescriptions and leads as the top branded topical acne drug in the US. Doctors like it because trials showed good safety, with common side effects limited to mild redness, itching, or scaling in about 7 to 12% of users. Rare issues like high potassium or hormone axis changes happened but stayed local and uncommon.
The same clascoterone is now in phase III trials at 5% strength for male pattern baldness, still working the same way by targeting scalp receptors directly. Early results look promising, with hair growth increases up to five times placebo in small areas, all without systemic hormone risks. This local focus sets it apart from oral drugs like finasteride, which lower DHT body-wide.
Patients apply Winlevi once or twice daily to clean skin, letting it absorb without washing off right away. Its cream form suits acne spots well, and the solution form in trials fits scalps better. By staying put and degrading fast, it keeps hormone balance intact elsewhere in the body.
Sources
https://www.genengnews.com/topics/translational-medicine/stockwatch-cosmo-surges-40-on-baldness-candidates-phase-iii-data/
https://theprint.in/opinion/clascoterone-new-drug-root-cause-pattern-baldness/2813671/
https://trial.medpath.com/news/27b0a7ff93d6fdc7/cosmo-s-clascoterone-5-topical-solution-achieves-breakthrough-results-in-phase-iii-male-pattern-hair-loss-trials
https://www.aditharun.com/p/clascoterone-is-not-a-cure-for-baldness
https://www.hairlosscure2020.com/breezula-clascoterone-breakthrough-phase-iii-results/
https://www.ndtv.com/health/how-clascoterone-works-acne-drug-repurposed-for-male-pattern-baldness-explained-9770844
https://folliclethought.com/cosmo-has-announced-phase-iii-topline-results-for-clascoterone-5-solution-in-the-treatment-of-androgenic-alopecia/
https://hairgrowthdoctor.com/clascoterone-cure-hair-loss/
https://www.droracle.ai/articles/621122/are-there-clinical-trials-on-topical-clascoterone-for-androgenetic
