Like most 4-and-a-half-year-olds, Lev Bielski loves playing with his big sister, spelling his favorite pastime \u201cpool\u201d on the letter board and cuddling with his parents on movie nights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s been a long journey for the golden-haired \u201csurfer bro\u201d who loves splashing in the water at surf camp and trying on Dad\u2019s volunteer firefighter gear.<\/p>\n
Up until four months ago, Lev was self-harming until he was black and blue, unable to make eye contact and keeping to himself in a corner all day. He was inching dangerously close to being confined by a punishing helmet and sedated with heavy antipsychotic meds to mitigate his severe autism that left him incapable of functioning by himself.<\/p>\n
The outlook was bleak for the tormented tyke, who showed symptoms before he was a year old.<\/p>\n
Matthew Bielski\u2019s son Lev was self-harming and kept to himself because of autism. Things have changed drastically since he started an experimental drug. Matthew Bielski<\/p>\n
His parents, Gabriella and Matthew Bielski, chased every therapeutic intervention and specialist across the country for years, to no avail. The family desperately needed a lifeline, as no medication is approved to address the core symptoms related to autism.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHalf my day was running a business and half was holding him down and trying to keep him from hurting himself \u2014 we had no solution,\u201d Matthew Bielski told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was until research led the anguished couple to Yamo Pharmaceuticals<\/a>, a decade-old clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to treating the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder with its \u201cmiracle drug\u201d called L1-79.<\/p>\n They managed to get Lev the therapy before FDA approval thanks to the FDA\u2019s expanded-access program \u2014 and the results, they said, were immediate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the next day,\u201d Bielski said. \u201cIt was right away and other people in all the phases said the same thing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt changed everything for us,\u201d he added, beaming over Lev\u2019s \u201clife-changing transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n Overjoyed over his \u201cmiracle kid,\u201d Bielski predicted the drug will be the \u201cOzempic of autism.\u201d<\/p>\n What separates this investigational oral therapy from other treatments is its focus on brain signaling involved in social interaction, rather than just the behaviors surrounding autism.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n With FDA fast track designation, Yamo said L1-79 is poised to become the first FDA-approved therapy for the core symptoms of autism, with the potential to transform the lives of millions. And as the drug moves into crucial Phase 3 trials, Bielski is determined to see that transformation happen.<\/p>\n Yamo Pharmaceuticals\u2019 \u201cmiracle drug,\u201d called L1-79, \u201cchanged everything for us,\u201d he said. Matthew Bielski<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope that the FDA works closely with Yamo because right now there\u2019s zero solutions, and this has the best shot of being that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The determination of a dad<\/p>\n The 42-year-old Wall Street honcho is drawing on his family\u2019s history of fighting for survival to protect his son.<\/p>\n The Hamptonite is a descendant of the legendary Bielski brigade of partisans. The band of four Jewish brothers rescued 1,200 Jews from certain death and eliminated Nazis while hiding deep inside the Belarussian Naliboki Forest during the Holocaust.\u00a0<\/p>\n His family story was immortalized in the movie \u201cDefiance,\u201d with Liev Schreiber<\/a> portraying his fearless grandpa Zus.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up with stories of survival and fighting back,\u201d Bielski, founder and CEO of a leading exchange-traded fund issuer, Defiance ETFs, said. That\u2019s become a mandate he carries with him today to fight for Lev and the scores of other kids hoping for a chance at a better life.<\/p>\n Taking the oral formula administered twice a day is a highlight for Lev (above). Matthew Bielski<\/p>\n \u2018He\u2019s excited to take it\u2019<\/p>\n With about one out of every 31 kids diagnosed with autism, the \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d drug could change millions of lives, according to Dr. Tom Megarian, a veteran pediatric neurologist and CMO & EVP of Clinical Development at Yamo.<\/p>\n Early trials were promising.<\/p>\n Phase 2 results from a 12-week study<\/a> presented last year showed what Yamo described as \u201cunprecedented\u201d gains in socialization, alongside critical strides in communication skills and speech patterns, with parents describing an overnight transformation.<\/p>\n \u201cHe went from the least affectionate kid to the most affectionate kid almost overnight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Matthew Bielski<\/p>\n \u201cAs a clinician practicing in this space for 30 years, I\u2019ve never seen that level of improvement in that short a period of time. I haven\u2019t even seen that level of improvement in that many children over years of therapy,\u201d said Dr. Megarian.<\/p>\n \u201cOur biggest barrier right now is getting the funding that we need to move forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Yamo boasted a highly favorable safety profile \u2014 a key distinction from the potentially serious side effects associated with antipsychotic medications.<\/p>\n \u201cThe benefit has been almost miraculous, and there have been no serious side effects,\u201d Dr. Eric Bartky<\/a>, a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist who treats Lev, told The Post, noting the positive outcomes for mild to severe cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lev (above with his mom and sister) has \u201cscored a lot of massive big wins\u201d on the meds, his dad said. Matthew Bielski<\/p>\n It\u2019s what every parent dreams of.<\/p>\n