This story appears in the April 24, 2017 issue of Forbes. Subscribe
Jonathan Silverstein, a six-time Midas List member, was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form... [+]
Two decades of successful investing in some of biotech's biggest hits has made Jonathan Silverstein rich. Now he is looking for investments that could save his life.
In February, Silverstein, who had just turned 50, received a brutal diagnosis. The six-time Midas List member had an aggressive form of Parkinson's disease linked to a mutation of a gene called GBA, which makes a key enzyme that functions as something of a garbage collector for the body's cells. GBA-associated Parkinson's is rare, afflicting about 50,000 people in the United States; it's considered an advanced and deadly form of the disease.
Not long after telling his family, including three young children, Silverstein stood in front of the 110 employees of his firm, OrbiMed Advisors, to share the news. "Telling them was one of the toughest things I've ever done," he says. Then the investor vowed to get to work on finding a cure.
As one of two partners in charge of venture investments at OrbiMed, Silverstein is in a unique position to do so. He's not just a leader at one of the largest bio firms in the world, with $13 billion in public and private assets worldwide. He also knows how to spot winning drugs. Since he began investing in 1999, Silverstein and his team have backed companies that have created more than 60 drugs and medical devices that passed the approval process. He's personally invested in 30 companies that were sold or went public--6 in the past year alone. And for every dollar he's invested, Silverstein has returned $4.30, investors in the firm say.
Finding a drug that can cure his form of Parkinson's won't be so easy. Drugs that can help with some symptoms have been around for decades. Silverstein has backed three Parkinson's companies before. But when it comes to delving deep into genetic mutations like GBA to find drugs for a cure, research has only just begun. "We don't have a great understanding yet," says Todd Sherer, CEO of the Michael J. Fox Foundation. "But it's where the real opportunity for a breakthrough could happen."
The first two drugs are set to enter clinical trials for Silverstein's form of Parkinson's in the next few months. He can't afford to wait to see if they work. So Silverstein has established a new nonprofit, the Silverstein Foundation, with more than $10 million of his own money to raise awareness for the disease. He hopes to find researchers in the field and encourage their work through grants. With an expected cost of between $5 million and $15 million per drug that demonstrates proof of concept, Silverstein will need to raise considerably more.
In the two months since the diagnosis, Silverstein has already met with Sherer and the CEO of another leading nonprofit, the Parkinson's Disease Foundation, to talk partnerships for the research he'll back. He's begun hiring a new team to help him spot the drugs. Silverstein has no plans to stop investing at OrbiMed. "I'm fortunate enough to have no hobbies," he says. "The only thing I'm good at is venture capital."
Silverstein's drugs have helped save others' lives before. When his mother required dialysis a few years ago, he was delighted to see doctors use a machine invented by one of his companies. When friends reached out about sick loved ones, he'd tell them about the best clinical trials. If he looks at it the right way, Silverstein says, he's excited to take on the new challenge: "If I don't do it, who does?" Few people in the world are more qualified to do something about their own diagnosis, he says he told his family. "I won't be intimidated."
You can find Silverstein's foundation online at www.silversteinfoundation.org or reach out on Twitter at @silversteinFNDN.
See the full 2017 Midas List here.
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