By Monique Curet March 31, 2022
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
• There is no evidence that Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards was staged. Smith apologized for his actions and the Academy has initiated disciplinary proceedings against him.
• Pfizer is developing two medications to treat alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. The earliest anticipated date for federal regulatory approval of either drug is 2023.
Social media posts are falsely claiming that a confrontation between two celebrities at the 94th Academy Awards was actually plotted by Pfizer, one of the sponsors of the ceremony, to promote a new medication...
Pfizer does not have any drugs for alopecia areata that are ready for imminent release. The company has two medications — ritlecitinib and etrasimod — under development to treat the condition, but neither will be available to the public in the near future.
Pfizer does not anticipate federal regulatory approval of ritlecitinib until at least 2023, according to the company’s December 2021 presentation to investors.
Ritlecitinib successfully completed Phase 2b/3 trials in August 2021 for patients with alopecia areata. Pfizer said at the time that the data from the trial "will form the basis for planned future regulatory filings," but the company has not released any further information about the filing.
The other drug, etrasimod, successfully completed a Phase 3 trial for treating ulcerative colitis, the company announced on March 29. The medication is also being investigated for other immuno-inflammatory diseases including alopecia areata. Etrasimod is not anticipated to be approved for use for alopecia areata until 2028.
Pfizer was a "proud" sponsor of the Academy Awards — the top tier of sponsorship — along with Rolex, Verizon and Crypto.com, AdWeek
reported...
Two of last year's four "proud sponsors" return for this year's ceremony: Rolex and Verizon, who are joined by freshman "proud sponsors" Crypto.com and Pfizer. (General Motors and Google are sitting this year out.)
Our ruling
Facebook posts say that Pfizer staged a confrontation between Smith and Rock at the Academy Awards to put alopecia areata in the headlines, since the drug company "has a new alopecia medication coming out."
Pfizer has two medications — ritlecitinib and etrasimod — under development to treat alopecia areata. But neither drug will be available to the public in the near future. The earliest anticipated date for federal regulatory approval of either drug is 2023.
Media reports have said there is no evidence to support the claim that Will Smith’s slap was staged. The Academy has initiated disciplinary proceedings against Smith, and he apologized for his actions.
We rate this claim False.