# START pod: Jeff Liu, CEO & Co-Founder, FinalDose "Programmable DNA drug destroying all cancers, unlocking 80% of targets"

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/start-7171926/start-pod-jeff-liu-ceo-co-founder-finaldose-programmable-dna-drug-destroying-all-cancers-unlocking-80-of-targets
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/start-7171926/start-pod-jeff-liu-ceo-co-founder-finaldose-programmable-dna-drug-destroying-all-cancers-unlocking-80-of-targets.md
Podcast: [START](https://stenobird.com/podcast/start-7171926)
Published: 2026-05-26T22:02:26+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/77daffff
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/77daffff/fe22418c.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/start-7171926/episodes/start-pod-jeff-liu-ceo-co-founder-finaldose-programmable-dna-drug-destroying-all-cancers-unlocking-80-of-targets
Duration seconds: 1075

## Resource

Most cancer drugs target proteins FinalDose thinks the real opportunity is one layer deeper: DNA Jeff Liu and his team are building a programmable drug platform that uses genetic mutations to identify and selectively destroy cancer cells Cells without those mutations are not targeted Instead of creating a completely new drug for every cancer type, the platform is designed as a reusable system with different genetic instructions One chassis. Different disease targets. The broader bet: DNA is more deterministic than proteins, which could unlock therapeutic approaches traditional drugs struggle to reach Search. Destroy. "A programmable cell elimination platform." 🎙️ Jeff Liu, Cofounder & CEO of FinalDose on START 00:11 Why proteins may be the wrong layer for cancer treatment 01:14 Using DNA mutations as programmable kill signatures 03:20 Building a reusable therapeutic platform instead of one-off drugs 05:00 Why hard biotech problems require interdisciplinary teams 06:00 Getting into YC after a 4 a.m. interview in Japan 08:00 Sam Altman’s $2M AI token offer — and why FinalDose passed 10:08 How AI-native biotech is accelerating programmable medicine 12:00 Why the future of medicine may look more like engineering 13:05 The regulatory bottleneck for programmable therapeutics Learn more at finaldose.ai

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