Hey GSK, It's a New Year with New Leadership, Let's Restart Celiac Disease Research in 2026
- Jon Bari
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
An Open Letter to Luke Miels at GSK from 12-Year Old Jax Bari
Dear Mr. Miels,
As we begin a new year -- and with GSK now under new leadership -- I respectfully ask that you consider restarting Celiac Disease research in 2026. This will give hope to my community of 3.3 million Americans with Celiac, including about 729,000 kids like me.
On February 1, 2023, Fierce Biotech reported that GSK terminated its Celiac Disease R&D program (3195393, TG2 inhibitor). This update was buried on page 33 of GSK's, Full year and Q4 2022 results, Conference call and webcast for investors and analysts, Innovation: R&D pipeline changes since last quarter, February 1, 2023.
According to Fierce Biotech, "GSK's decadelong involvement with the TG2 pathway has hit a setback. Ten years after helping found Sitari Pharmaceuticals and four years after buying it outright, the British Big Pharma has dropped plans to develop its drug candidate in celiac disease while leaving the door open to other indications."
Sitari was founded with funding from GSK and Avalon Ventures. Sitari had raised a $10 million Series A round to advance research building on Stanford University scientist Chaitan Khosla, Ph.D.’s work on TG2 inhibition. GSK acquired Sitari in 2019 and advanced Sitari's lead candidate, GSK3915393, into the clinic the following year. GSK completed the clinical study in 2021, but the asset remained in the company's early-stage pipeline until February 2023. At the time when GSK quietly killed its Celiac research, GSK moved 3915393 back into the research portfolio. This effectively ended GSK's plans to develop the drug for Celiac Disease while stopping short of discontinuing the program entirely.
This was such disheartening news, especially given what GSK's former CEO Emma Walmsley told Fierce Biotech,
"I don't think there are any further plans to pursue celiac disease. It will be, again, simply a question of really putting as much discipline as we can into our capital allocation. We do that now across the full portfolio of vaccines and medicines, and we just try and look to see where we're going to not only get the right impact for patients, but the right of return on that R&D investment with the right kind of portfolio mix in terms of risks and rewards." -- GSK CEO Emma Walmsley
Given GSK's role as a global biopharma company, GSK is a bellwether for the pharma industry. After GSK had acquired Sitari in 2019, it signaled that other large pharma companies might be more interested in pursuing Celiac treatments other than a Gluten Free diet. GSK's pullback has been a negative signal to the marketplace.
The reporting suggested that GSK's termination of Celiac R&D is because Celiacs do not represent a large enough market opportunity for return on investment.
As of September 30, 2025, GSK had reported an operating profit of £6.83 billion in 2025. You don't need a degree from the London School of Economics or Wharton to know that £6.83 billion is a lot of money in any currency -- pounds, dollars or euros.
GSK can certainly afford to restart Celiac Disease, and in the currency of hope and impact, that would be really meaningful to the Celiac Disease community! This could have the right impact for Celiac patients and their loved ones, as well as the right kind of portfolio mix in terms of risks and rewards through the potential of drug repurposing.
I urge you to reconsider and restart Celiac Disease research. Thank you for your consideration.
Jax Bari
