About 1000 Cures

Ending pediatric rare disease —one family, one program,one cure at a time.

We believe

Rare disease parents are the most motivated operators in biopharma.

Our mission

Give rare disease family founders the capital, infrastructure and expertise pharma was never built to provide.

Our vision

Every family founder resourced like a well-capitalized pharma company — at a family’s speed.

Leadership

Two scientists. Two decades of life-science expertise.

Advisory board to be announced.

Co-founder & CEO

Ethan Perlstein, Ph.D. on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)

Ethan received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from Harvard University (training under Professor Stuart Schreiber) and completed an independent postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton. During his academic training, he developed an evolutionary approach to drug discovery in model organisms. This methodology anchored his subsequent career in translational science and patient-centered therapeutic development. He went on to found Perlara PBC, the world’s first biotech public benefit corporation and Y Combinator alum (W16) and later served as Chief Scientific Officer of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. As an investor in ~100 companies (top performer: Gilgamesh Pharma), Ethan brings translational science, patient-centered development, and builder expertise.

Harvard Ph.D.Princeton postdocYC W16

Co-founder & COO

Ryan Ponzi, Ph.D. on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)

Ryan received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of New England and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Boston College (under Professor Amir H. Hoveyda). He transitioned to intellectual property law, becoming a USPTO-registered Patent Agent at a Vault Top 5 firm. Ryan supported high-value rare disease portfolios generating billions in annual revenue and evaluated assets for multibillion-dollar acquisitions. Ryan made a deliberate transition from bench science to intellectual property law, motivated by a conviction that the most impactful contributions to drug development happened not only in the laboratory, but in the legal and business decisions that determine which science reaches patients.

Boston College Ph.D.Patent AgentIP strategy

Synergy

Ethan’s translational science, strong relationship with the rare disease community, patient-community partnerships, and investment acumen combine with Ryan’s IP, regulatory, and commercialization precision to de-risk execution and operationalize the lean accelerator model for family founders, turning scientific promise into fundable, executable programs that deliver treatments with urgency.

Contact

We read every message personally.

Parent-founders, investors, partners, scientists and press — we reply within 2 business days.

ryan@1000cures.com

Office

1200 Brickell Ave, Suite 1950, Miami, FL 33131

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Ending pediatric rare disease —one family, one program,one cure at a time.

Two scientists. Two decades of life-science expertise.

Ethan Perlstein, Ph.D. on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)

Ryan Ponzi, Ph.D. on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)

We read every message personally.

Send us a message