Founder Story: Matthew De Silva of Notable Labs

When Matthew De Silva's father was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in 2012, he didn't just become a caregiver—he became an innovator. Frustrated by the lack of personalized treatment options, De Silva left his career in finance to found Notable Labs, a company revolutionizing cancer treatment through AI-driven precision medicine. His journey from Wall Street to biotech entrepreneurship is a testament to the power of personal mission in driving technological breakthroughs.

A Vision Born from Personal Tragedy

In 2012, Matthew De Silva was living the life many young finance professionals dream of. At 25, he was working as an analyst at a prominent hedge fund, applying his sharp analytical skills to the world of investments. But everything changed when his father, Richard De Silva, was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive form of brain cancer.

"When my dad was diagnosed, I felt helpless. The doctors gave us a prognosis of 15 months, and the treatment options were limited and often ineffective," De Silva recalls.

As he delved into research about his father's condition, De Silva was struck by the lack of personalized treatment options. The standard approach—surgery followed by radiation and chemotherapy—felt like a blunt instrument against such a complex disease. He wondered: What if there was a way to predict which treatments would work best for each individual patient?

This question became the seed of an idea that would transform De Silva's life and potentially revolutionize cancer treatment.

From Finance to Founder: The Unconventional Path

In 2014, just two years after his father's diagnosis, De Silva made a decision that shocked many of his colleagues: he left his promising career in finance to start a biotech company. Notable Labs was born with a mission to develop a platform that could rapidly test multiple FDA-approved drugs against a patient's own cancer cells, predicting which treatments would be most effective.

"People thought I was crazy," De Silva admits. "I had no background in biology or medicine. But I knew how to analyze data, and I believed that applying data science to cancer treatment could save lives."

De Silva's lack of experience in the biotech field proved to be both a challenge and an advantage. While he had to quickly educate himself on complex biological concepts, his outsider perspective allowed him to approach the problem of cancer treatment in a novel way.

He assembled a team that combined expertise in biology, data science, and robotics. Together, they developed a high-throughput screening platform that could test thousands of drug combinations on a patient's cancer cells in just days.

Building in the Face of Opposition

The early days of Notable Labs were fraught with challenges. Many in the medical community were skeptical of a platform developed by someone without a traditional scientific background. Investors were wary of the high costs and long timelines typically associated with biotech startups.

De Silva faced rejection after rejection, but he remained undeterred. He leveraged his finance background to create a lean startup model, focusing on developing the technology before scaling up operations.

A breakthrough came in 2015 when Notable Labs was accepted into Y Combinator, the prestigious startup accelerator. This provided not only funding but also valuable mentorship and connections in the tech world.

"Y Combinator taught us to think big and move fast," De Silva says. "We applied Silicon Valley's rapid iteration model to biotech, which was pretty revolutionary at the time."

Rewriting Industry Rules

Notable Labs' approach to cancer treatment was fundamentally different from traditional pharmaceutical companies. Instead of developing new drugs—a process that can take over a decade and cost billions—they focused on finding new uses for existing FDA-approved drugs.

This approach, known as drug repurposing, had several advantages:

Speed: Testing existing drugs meant treatments could potentially reach patients much faster.
Cost-effectiveness: Repurposing drugs is significantly less expensive than developing new ones.
Safety: FDA-approved drugs already have known safety profiles, reducing risks for patients.

By 2017, Notable Labs had developed a platform that could test over 300 FDA-approved drugs in different combinations against a patient's cancer cells, all within 5 days. This was a game-changer in a field where time is often the most precious resource.

Defining Moments

First Clinical Validation (June 2018)

In collaboration with Stanford University, Notable Labs conducted a study on patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a group of blood cancers. The study, published in the journal Blood, showed that Notable's platform could predict patient response to therapy with 84% accuracy.

"That was the moment we knew we were onto something big," De Silva remembers. "We had scientific validation that our approach could really work."

Series B Funding (July 2019)

Notable Labs raised $40 million in Series B funding, led by B Capital Group and LifeForce Capital. This significant investment allowed the company to expand its clinical programs and further develop its AI-driven platform.

Volasertib Acquisition (March 2022)

In a bold move, Notable Labs acquired volasertib, a drug previously developed by Boehringer Ingelheim for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The drug had shown promise but failed in Phase III trials. Notable Labs believed their platform could identify the subset of patients most likely to respond to the treatment.

"Acquiring volasertib was a pivotal moment for us," De Silva states. "It demonstrated our ability not just to predict treatments, but to rescue and develop drugs that could save lives."

Innovation Philosophy

De Silva's approach to innovation at Notable Labs is characterized by three core principles:

Patient-centric design: "Everything we do starts with the patient. We're not just developing technology; we're trying to give people more time with their loved ones."
Rapid iteration: "In biotech, there's often a fear of failure that slows everything down. We embrace failure as a learning opportunity and iterate quickly."
Cross-disciplinary collaboration: "Some of our best ideas have come from putting data scientists in the same room as biologists. Innovation happens at the intersection of disciplines."

Industry Impact

Notable Labs' approach has begun to shift the paradigm in cancer treatment and drug development:

Personalized medicine acceleration: Before Notable Labs, personalized cancer treatment was largely limited to genetic testing. Now, functional testing of live cancer cells is becoming more common, with several companies following Notable's lead.
Drug repurposing focus: Notable's success has sparked increased interest in drug repurposing across the pharmaceutical industry. According to a report by Grand View Research, the global drug repurposing market size is expected to reach $35.1 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 12.8% from 2021 to 2028.
AI in drug discovery: Notable's use of machine learning to predict drug efficacy has contributed to a broader trend of AI application in drug discovery. A 2023 study in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery reported that AI-driven drug discovery could reduce early-stage pharmaceutical research and development costs by 70%.

Personal Growth Lessons

De Silva's journey from finance to biotech has been a profound learning experience:

"I've learned that expertise is important, but curiosity and determination are even more crucial. Don't be afraid to tackle problems outside your field if you're truly passionate about solving them."

He also emphasizes the importance of resilience:

"In biotech, setbacks are inevitable. What matters is how quickly you can learn from them and adapt."

Legacy and Future Vision

As of 2024, Notable Labs has grown from a small startup to a clinical-stage company with multiple ongoing trials. Their platform has been used to analyze samples from over 1,000 patients across various types of blood cancers.

De Silva's vision for the future of Notable Labs extends beyond cancer:

"Our ultimate goal is to create a world where every patient gets the right treatment at the right time. We're starting with cancer, but our platform has the potential to impact many other diseases."

He also sees Notable Labs playing a role in reshaping the drug development process:

"We're showing that there's a faster, more efficient way to bring treatments to patients. I believe this model could significantly reduce the cost and time of drug development across the board."

Closing Thoughts

Matthew De Silva's journey from finance analyst to biotech innovator is a powerful reminder of how personal passion can drive scientific progress. By approaching the challenge of cancer treatment with fresh eyes and a data-driven mindset, he has helped pioneer a new approach to precision medicine that could benefit countless patients.

De Silva's story also highlights the potential for cross-disciplinary innovation in solving complex problems. His background in finance, combined with cutting-edge biology and data science, created a unique approach that is reshaping our understanding of how to treat cancer.

As Notable Labs continues to grow and evolve, De Silva remains driven by the same mission that inspired him to start the company:

"Every day, I think about my dad and all the other patients and families facing cancer. That's what keeps us pushing forward, always asking how we can do better, move faster, and help more people. In the end, it's not about the technology or the business—it's about giving people hope and time."

In an era where technology is rapidly transforming every aspect of our lives, Matthew De Silva and Notable Labs stand as a testament to the power of purpose-driven innovation. They remind us that with determination, creativity, and a willingness to challenge the status quo, we can turn personal pain into progress that benefits all of humanity.