Bonding on a Cellular Level

“Do you need any help?” Wei asked. At that very moment, a formidable partnership was born

It all started with a simple question: “Do you need any help?”

A chemist by training, Crystal Nyitray earned her Ph.D. in chemical biology focused on therapeutics from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She knew that she wanted to build an encapsulation therapeutics company, but was stuck on exactly how to move forward. Meanwhile, Grace Wei, Ph.D., is a biologist. The two women’s paths overlapped occasionally throughout their time at UCSF, but they lost touch after Nyitray graduated.

A few years later, Nyitray returned to UCSF, organizing a symposium to help life science startups navigate the entrepreneurial ecosystem. While setting up, she ran into Wei. After hearing more about Nyitray’s startup plans, Wei posed a simple but powerful question: “Do you need any help?” At that very moment, a formidable partnership was born.

The two women shared an idea about creating living medicines for a patient when the patient needs them. The resulting company, Encellin, leverages cells as molecular factories. The company’s proprietary encapsulation device delivers the medicine precisely how, when and where they’re needed in the body. The nanotechnology Nyitray developed has powerful implications for all diseases rooted in cell dysfunction, although the current focus is Type I diabetes.

The transition from colleagues to co-founders was seamless for Nyitray and Wei. From grant-writing to signing a term sheet, they’re both deeply grateful to have each other on this journey. “We're very complementary, both in our technical backgrounds and our styles,” says Wei. “Crystal is the engineer and I’m the biologist.”

Her colleague feels the same. “While we are very different people, we have the same values and it’s very exciting to see,” Nyitray says. “When everything is going well, you obviously want Grace. But when everything is going poorly, you absolutely want Grace.”

This strong leadership has translated into fantastic traction. Encellin is being reviewed for in-human trials in Canada, with powerful investors from Khosla, Ventures, Sandhill Angels and SVLC. “We look forward to bringing our technology out of the lab and to the clinic,” Wei says. “Meanwhile, we are continually improving designs and are excited to add to our portfolio.”

Looking at all the highs and lows of company-building that lay ahead, one thing is certain: Wei and Nyitray will always be in each other’s corner.