Dr. James Wilson takes on roles in two new companies spun out of Penn’s Gene Therapy Program

James Wilson, MD, PhD, the Rose H. Weiss Orphan Disease Center Director’s Professor at Penn Medicine and former director of Penn’s Gene Therapy Program, has left Penn after 33 years to take on leadership roles in two independent startups that he co-founded. Wilson will serve as the CEO of GEMMA Biotherapeutics (“GEMMABio”), which is focused on creating lower-cost gene therapy platforms for rare diseases, and board chair for Franklin Biolabs, a genetic medicines contract research organization. The goal of Franklin Biolabs and GEMMABio is to translate scientific work into clinical trials to commercialize and distribute new genetic medicines around the world to patients in need.

In October 2024, GEMMABio secured up to $100 million in funding support from Brazil’s Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) to advance gene therapy treatments within Brazil’s public health system. The aim of this partnership is to create affordable gene therapies for rare diseases, such as GM1 gangliosidosis, Krabbe disease, and metachromatic leukodystrophy.