Matt Wilsey grew up wanting to serve. He spent his early career in government worki
ng for both blue and red administrations, but was eventually lured back to where he grew up–Silicon Valley—to join the tech scene, and helped start and lead several successful tech companies, including Zazzle and CardSpring (sold to Twitter). Along the way Matt did a stint in the New York financial scene, working for leadership at KKR. He considered a return to government, but real life, in the form of a child born with a rare disease, intervened.
Today, Matt Wilsey is CEO of Grace Science, a company that has a laser-like focus on curing a genetic disorder known as NGLY1 Deficiency, which affects about 75 people worldwide – it’s a pretty specific job which arose out a pretty specific experience – the desire to cure his own child, Grace. Despite no training in science or biology and no experience in the pharma world, Matt is driving his company to help all people with NGLY1 find hope for a cure and find each other. He is hell-bent on helping Grace back to health, on helping others fight this insidious disease, and to contribute to the general advancement of biotech discovery for common diseases along the way.
Matt has teamed up with patients, their families, a global array of academic researchers and even a Nobel laureate to achieve his goal; together they see light at the end of the tunnel. Matt expects clinical trials of the drug they have collectively developed to begin within two years and to make a difference not just for future children with this disease, but also his own. It is a joy to talk with someone in the healthcare field who is so smart and driven, but also so empathetic and and kind. We are so thrilled to have Matt on Tech Tonics today!
To listen to the show, please use the audio player below or find it on the Connected Social Media website or on Apple Podcasts.
We are grateful to Manatt Health for sponsoring today’s episode of Tech Tonics. Manatt Health integrates strategic business consulting, public policy acumen, legal excellence and deep analytics capabilities to better serve the complex needs of clients across America’s healthcare system. Together with it’s parent company, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, the firm’s multidisciplinary team is dedicated to helping its clients across all industries grow and prosper.
Show Notes:
FYI: Matt also started the Grace Science Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation focused on raising money towards a cure for NGLY1 deficiency. Go here to donate
Leave a Reply