Jim Wilson, gene therapy pioneer, departs Penn to set up new companies

Jim Wilson, a leading gene therapy researcher who has persisted through the field’s ups and downs, is leaving his longtime academic home at the University of Pennsylvania to found two new companies.

Penn is spinning out much of the work of its Gene Therapy Program, where Wilson had served as director, to the two new companies. Most of the program’s employees will be offered roles at the new companies, according to a statement released Wednesday night.

One of the companies, Gemma Biotherapeutics, will aim to build advanced medicines for patients with rare diseases. The other, called Franklin Biolabs, will serve as a contract research organization for companies working on genetic medicines.

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