Reed Jobs, founder of oncology-focused venture capital firm Yosemite and son of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Co-founder Steve Jobs, said GLP-1 drugs could have a significant impact on cancer and other diseases, describing them as some of the most important drugs to reach the market.
In an interview with Fortune’s Allie Garfinkle on "Term Sheet" published Wednesday, Jobs said the GLP-1 revolution has been one of the biggest scientific developments in biotechnology over the past three years. Jobs Highlights GLP-1 Drugs’ Potential Role In Cancer "The biggest one I think has actually been the GLP-1 revolution by far," Jobs told Fortune, adding that the drugs have produced some of the "best-selling and most impactful" medicines developed to date.
"On a population level, I think these are going to be some of the most important drugs we’ve ever actually seen come to market, and they’re finally addressing obesity," he said. Jobs said the drugs could benefit people struggling with obesity and potentially have broader implications for cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention associates obesity with an increased risk of 13 types of cancer. A study published in JAMA Oncology that followed 86,632 adults eligible for anti-obesity medication found that GLP-1 users had a 17% lower hazard of developing the 14 cancers studied than nonusers.
The finding shows an association and does not establish that GLP-1 drugs directly prevent cancer. Jobs compared obesity with smoking as a risk factor, arguing that prolonged exposure to obesity can increase disease risk throughout the body.
He also acknowledged potential drawbacks of GLP-1 drugs, including muscle loss. Read Also: Kevin Warsh Admits Rising Oil Prices Are Fueling Inflation Expectations as Trump's Energy Holdings Reportedly Soar 3X Amid Iran War Yosemite Raises Oversubscribed Second Fund Jobs launched Yosemite after his father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003.
After studying pre-med at Stanford and working in cancer research labs, he built the firm around a model that combines venture capital investments with philanthropic grants to support early-stage cancer research and help promising university research. Jobs said the firm’s second fund exceeded its $350 million target and was oversubscribed.
Investors include AbbVie Inc. (NYSE: ABBV) and Amgen Inc.
(NASDAQ:AMGN), according to the interview. Jobs said pharmaceutical partners can help advance treatments through clinical trials and commercialization.
He added that completely eliminating cancer may not be realistic, as human cells always carry some risk of turning cancerous. However, he hopes treatments can make cancer a manageable condition, much like HIV, which can now be controlled with medication.
Obesity Drugs Gain Share Of Pharma Pipelines Earlier this year, a Deloitte report found that obesity drugs accounted for 25% of late-stage pipeline sales forecasts for major pharmaceutical companies, up from 1% in 2022. The figure was higher than oncology drugs’ 20% share.
On Wednesday, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) said its investigational drug retatrutide delivered “more than double the weight loss of the highest approved dose of Ozempic,” from Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE: NVO), in a head-to-head Phase 3 trial in adults with type 2 diabetes.
