GemmaBio and a related company, Franklin Biolabs, were spun out of the University of Pennsylvania's Gene Therapy Program on Oct. 1.
The agreement covers clinical development activities for six genetic disorders affecting the central nervous system. The ultimate goal is for the Brazilian government, which operatesnational health system, to manufacture and distribute the treatments for its population. Gemma would collect a royalty from each treatment.Wilson now leads Gemma as CEO and is chair of the second company, Franklin Biolabs, which will perform research under contract for other companies.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am about achieving this milestone. My hope is, it reinforces our message about innovation, not only in science, but innovation in business,” Wilson said in an interview.Gemma identified three of the six diseases it is tackling in Brazil. They are GM1 gangliosidosis, an inherited disease thatThose three potential treatments are licensed from Passage Bio Inc., a Philadelphia company that relies on research from Wilson’s lab at Penn into neurodegenerative diseases.
“We feel very comfortable in Brazil and confident in the stakeholders that we’re working with,” WilsonIf Brazil’s equivalent of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the treatments, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, known as Fiocruz, will be responsible for manufacturing and distributing them.