After his father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, Reed Jobs started working in cancer labs and studied pre-med at Stanford, knowing that figuring out how to cure the illness was his life’s work. That led him to launch his oncology-focused venture capital firm Yosemite, whose second funding round Jobs said has surpassed its $350 million target.
While Jobs is excited by the possibility of experimental cancer vaccines, he thinks GLP-1s, which he calls some of “the most impactful drugs that we’ve ever made,” could help fight the disease. He told Fortune’s Allie Garfinkle in a recent Term Sheet interview GLP-1s can help prevent cancer by reducing obesity, which is associated with higher risk for 13 types of cancer, according to the CDC.
“I think these are going to be some of the most important drugs we’ve ever actually seen come to market,” Jobs said. “[They’re] not only going to help people who are obese and struggling with that, but with cancer, with cardiovascular disease, with a lot of things.”
The stakes are high. The American Cancer Society projected 2.1 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and more than 626,000 will die from the disease, or about 1,700 people every day. The CDC estimates that cancers associated with obesity account for 40% of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S. each year, including colon, pancreatic, kidney, and breast cancer.
Jobs compared obesity to smoking, saying the longer people live with either risk factor, the greater their chances of developing certain cancers. A 2024 ACA study found smoking caused an estimated 19.3% of U.S. cancer cases, compared with 7.6% linked to excess body weight.
“The more time you spend being obese, the greater your odds of getting an obesity-related disease are,” he said. “[GLP-1s] are a fantastic way for obese people to basically stop being obese very quickly.”
Some research supports the possibility that GLP-1s could reduce cancer risk. A study published in JAMA Oncology last year followed 86,632 adults eligible for antiobesity medications and found that those taking GLP-1 drugs had a 17% lower “hazard” of developing the 14 cancers studied over time than nonusers. Jobs acknowledged that GLP-1s have drawbacks, including muscle loss, but called their rise the biggest biotechnology breakthrough of the past three years.
He also said it’s unrealistic to cure cancer entirely because human cells always carry some risk of becoming cancerous, but he hopes cancer can be treated like HIV, which can now be managed with medication.
“It’s the victory over death, and that is what I want for cancer patients, and I think that that’s more achievable and more realistic,” Jobs said.