New York (HedgeCo.Net) – A former hedge fund banker at JPMorgan has founded a biotechnology company after discovering that his son suffered from Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Ilan Ganot left his hedge fund career behind him and moved to Boston to peruse a new business model aimed at speeding up the development of new drugs. So far Ganot has raised $17 million for the endeavor.

“Am I going to save my son? I’m giving it my best shot,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg. “I am definitely going to change the future for all the boys with DMD.”

Bloomberg says: “Ganot, 40, a former Israeli army captain, is one of a generation of parents who are stepping in when medicine and industry don’t move fast enough to save their children. Instead of the usual approach of forming or supporting an advocacy group, Ganot is using his roots in finance to start a business aimed at getting treatments to market.”

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a recessive X-linked form of muscular dystrophy, affecting around 1 in 3,600 boys, which results in muscle degeneration and eventual death.

“He’s a really exceptional example of a parent who says, ‘I’m going to take my skills and apply them to this problem,’” said Sharon Hesterlee, vice president of research at Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. “You want them to solve world peace after this.”

Alex Akesson
Editor for HedgeCo.net
alex@hedgeco.net
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