Blog Post #1: What’s New in Celiac Research & Treatment

Cutting-Edge Therapies & What’s Coming

Insights from the Columbia University International Symposium on Celiac Disease – June 2025. Written by Caleigh McAulay, RD, Health Promotions Manager for Celiac Canada.

In May 2025, researchers, clinicians, and advocates from around the world gathered both in-person and virtually at Columbia University’s International Symposium on Celiac Disease. The event explored the latest advancements in diagnosis, treatment, global trends, and the future of care for people living with celiac disease and related conditions. Celiac Canada attended to bring back insights for our community.

In this post, we’re highlighting the most exciting advances in celiac treatment and drug development — and what they could mean for people living with the disease.

New Drug Therapies in Development

Several promising drug therapies were discussed, offering hope, especially for those who still experience symptoms despite following a strict gluten-free diet (GFD):

TAK-062 and TAK-227: These therapies aim to aid gluten digestion and inhibit tissue transglutaminase (TG2), targeting the immune cascade that causes intestinal damage in celiac disease.

Amlitelimab: A monoclonal antibody being studied for non-responsive celiac disease. It aims to reduce inflammation by targeting a specific immune pathway (OX40/OX40L). It’s currently being studied in Phase 2 clinical trials.

DONQ52: A neutralizing antibody that targets the interaction between gluten peptides and HLA-DQ2.5, aiming to prevent the immune response that leads to intestinal damage.

These therapies are still in development but if effective could provide a therapy for those who are symptomatic despite a gluten-free diet.

The Long-Term Goal: Immune Tolerance

Ultimately, researchers hope to develop a kind of “vaccine” that could help people with celiac disease tolerate gluten. This would work by retraining the immune system to stop reacting to gluten in the first place. It’s an ambitious goal — but the science is moving in that direction.

Why It Matters

The gluten-free diet is currently the only treatment for celiac disease. But for many people, it’s not enough. Even trace amounts of gluten can cause damage, and some individuals continue to experience symptoms despite strict adherence.

These emerging therapies could offer much-needed relief for people with ongoing symptoms, and could also help in complex cases like non-responsive or refractory celiac disease.

At Celiac Canada, we’ll continue monitoring these clinical trials and advocating for access to treatments here in Canada.

Stay tuned for the next post in our series, where we’ll explore how celiac diagnosis is evolving — and what that means for blood tests, biopsies, and beyond.