Gene therapy pioneer Jim Wilson will leave his academic post at the University of Pennsylvania and launch two new companies, one focused on developing rare diseases and another meant to provide contract services for genetic medicines.
Wilson will step down as director of UPenn’s Gene Therapy Program, the high-profile center from which he pioneered many advances in gene therapy, including the use of adeno-associated viruses to deliver the treatments, according to a statement Wednesday announcing the news.
“Forming these two new entities is the next step to accelerate the future of gene therapy and deliver therapeutics to patients significantly faster,” Wilson said in a statement.
The new companies will be called GEMMA Biotherapeutics, which will develop treatments; and Franklin Biolabs, a contract services company. The companies were created in March, according to Pennsylvania corporate filings. No financial details were provided, such as how much equity the university retains and how much Wilson will own, and a media liaison for the new companies declined to make Wilson available for an interview.
“More than 220 individuals in the Gene Therapy Program’s workforce have received offers to join Franklin Biolabs or GEMMA Biotherapeutics in similar roles. Approximately 25 employees’ positions will be discontinued as part of this transition,” a Penn Medicine spokesperson told Endpoints News.
Wilson will leave UPenn, where he holds a number of positions, to lead the two companies, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The move was approved Wednesday by the Executive Committee of UPenn’s Board of Trustees, which will result in “the transfer of the GTP’s functions and assets to two new companies,” according to an emailed statement from the Penn Medicine spokesperson.
The news comes at a time when large pharma companies, such as Takeda and Pfizer, have been cutting back on gene therapy work. Meanwhile, academic researchers, families and others have been seeking new ways to push genetic medicine programs for rare diseases forward in a dearth of industry interest.
GEMMABio will license three programs from Passage Bio, a startup co-founded by Wilson that has faced a series of layoffs and leadership changes. The three early-stage clinical programs include gene therapies for GM1 gangliosidosis, Krabbe disease and metachromatic leukodystrophy — all programs that were paused under Passage.
The three diseases are from a group of pediatric rare diseases called lysosomal storage disorders.
Passage will receive $10 million “for the purchase of clinical product supply,” plus up to another $10 million based on certain business milestones, according to the biotech. Passage could receive up to another $114 million in milestones, plus future royalties.
GEMMABio and Passage also penned a research deal in Huntington’s disease and a previously paused temporal lobe epilepsy program, formerly managed by UPenn, according to an SEC filing. The research deal also gives Passage options to conduct new research programs in four neuro conditions.
UPenn’s Gene Therapy Program came under fire in 2021 for allegations of workplace abuse. In December, the program laid off about a quarter of its staff, or 84 employees, “due to financial constraints,” according to the Daily Pennsylvanian, UPenn’s campus newspaper.
Both companies will be based in the greater Philadelphia area, according to the press release. UPenn will sublease space and license the gene therapy program’s intellectual property to the new companies, according to the Inquirer.
Penn Medicine’s spokesperson said the University’s Orphan Disease Center, which is also led by Wilson, will “continue its critical mission under new leadership.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated substantially throughout to include additional information about the two new companies and the gene therapy program, as well as a statement from a Penn Medicine spokesperson.
Drew Armstrong contributed to reporting.