EQ101 (BNZ-1)
EQ101 (BNZ-1) is in Phase 2 for alopecia areata, developed by Equillium.
A peptide blocking IL-2, IL-9 and IL-15 at once that produced a modest signal in 2024 and has since dropped out of Equillium's pipeline.
This programme is no longer being actively pursued.
- Developed by
- Equillium
- Current phase
- Phase 2
- Mechanism
- Immunomodulator
- Indications
- Alopecia areata
- Also known as
- BNZ-1, BNZ1, EQ101, EQ-101
- Last public activity
- April 2025
- Copy last reviewed
- September 2026
- Record confidence
- Medium
Tests whether it works, at what dose, in a few hundred people.
Retunes the immune system more broadly than a single pathway.
A research record, not medical advice: being listed here says nothing about whether a treatment works or whether it is right for you. Talk to a dermatologist about your own case.
How it is meant to work
IL-15 is one of the cytokines the JAK inhibitors interrupt in alopecia areata, and EQ101 targets it directly along with IL-2 and IL-9. Blocking the cytokines rather than the kinase downstream of them is a narrower intervention than a JAK inhibitor, which is the argument for better tolerability and the risk of less effect. Developed as BNZ-1 by Bioniz before Equillium acquired it.
Why it matters
The open-label Phase 2, intravenous dosing over 24 weeks in Australia and New Zealand, reported in June 2024 that 20% of the 25 completers reached a SALT score of 20 or below, 29% among the 17 with moderate to severe rather than near-total loss, and none of the eight with 95% or more of the scalp bare. Equillium called the data positive and spoke of a subcutaneous reformulation. By 2026 EQ101 no longer appears on the company's pipeline page, which centres on EQ504. Listed as inactive on that basis; no discontinuation has been announced.
Development history
- Phase 2
First Phase 2 trial on record: NCT03532958 — Phase 2 Trial of BNZ-1 in Patients With Moderate to Severe Alopecia Areata
ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Registered trials
Pulled automatically from ClinicalTrials.gov. Matching is by name and development code, so occasional gaps are possible — tell us if you spot one.
Study of EQ101 in Adult Subjects With Moderate to Severe Alopecia Areata
Equillium · n=36 · December 2022
Phase 2 Trial of BNZ-1 in Patients With Moderate to Severe Alopecia Areata
Equillium · October 2021
Listing a trial is not a recommendation to join one. Eligibility, risks and costs vary enormously — discuss any trial with your own doctor first.
Sources
- BNZ-1 in alopecia areata — ClinicalTrials.gov
- Study of EQ101 in Adult Subjects With Moderate to Severe Alopecia Areata — ClinicalTrials.gov
- Equillium pipeline (EQ101 no longer listed) — Company release
- Equillium announces positive topline data from Phase 2 study of EQ101 in alopecia areata — Company release, June 2024
- Equillium, Inc. Form 8-K — EQ101 Phase 2 alopecia areata topline results — Regulator filing, June 2024
- Equillium acquires Bioniz Therapeutics, significantly expanding pipeline of novel immunomodulatory drug candidates — Company release, February 2022
Related programmes
Other programmes in the register with the same mechanism: Immunomodulator.
Cite this page
Hair Pipeline, "EQ101 (BNZ-1) — development record", hairpipeline.com/pipeline/bnz-1