Founded in 2017, The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson's with GBA actively pursues and invests in cutting edge research with the goal of discovering new therapies for the treatment of Parkinson's Disease in glucocerebrosidase (GBA) mutation carriers.  Our four goals are:

• To raise awareness around Parkinson’s Disease associated with GBA mutations and relevant clinical trials for mutation carriers;
• To aggressively seek out new, cutting-edge therapeutic approaches to treating and preventing Parkinson’s in GBA mutation carriers;
• To engage with clinicians, scientists and biotechnology companies to accelerate research and clinical trials in an effort to rapidly bring new therapeutic options to patients;
•  To raise the necessary funds to meet these goals.

Our Founder's Story

Jonathan T. Silverstein, J.D., is a General Partner and a Co-Head of Global Private Equity at OrbiMed, the world's largest fully dedicated healthcare fund manager with five offices around the globe.  After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, Mr. Silverstein learned that he was a carrier of the GBA mutation which had triggered his disease.  He immediately established The Silverstein Foundation for Parkinson's with GBA, a 501(c)(3) organization.  Over his nearly 20 years of experience in venture capital, Mr. Silverstein has had success in investing in therapeutics to treat Parkinson's and other rare diseases, making him uniquely positioned to take on this challenge.  The mission and goals of the Foundation are very specific.  It will operate like an efficient biotechnology company, laser focused on rapidly converting scientific ideas and experimental drugs into FDA approved therapeutics to treat and prevent the onset of disease in mutation carriers.  

Mr. Silverstein joined OrbiMed in 1998 and has been on the board of several dozen biotech companies over the last 2 decades.   During his tenure, OrbiMed has invested in healthcare companies that have led to over 60 FDA approved products.  With a particular interest in rare diseases, Mr. Silverstein has been the chairman of several biotechnology companies focused on these "orphan" drugs, including: Enobia (sold to Alexion), Intercept (ICPT), Audentes (BOLD) and a director of Ascendis (ASND) and Rhythm Therapeutics (Private).  For the last six years (2012 to 2017), Forbes® Magazine named Mr. Silverstein one of the top 100 venture capitalists in the world when it placed him on the "Forbes Midas List".  Mr. Silverstein has a J.D. and an M.B.A. from the University of San Diego, and a B.A. in Economics from Denison University.

Our Initiatives

Find out more about the foundation's ongoing initiatives and goals.

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