Functional Precision Medicine: How Cancer Drugs Are Tested Before Treatment | Jim Foote
In this episode of An Hour of Innovation podcast, Vit Lyoshin speaks with Jim Foote, co-founder and CEO of First Ascent Biomedical, about why modern cancer treatment still relies heavily on trial-and-error, and how functional precision medicine is changing that reality.
Jim shares his personal journey into oncology innovation, shaped by the loss of his son to cancer, and explains a fundamental flaw in today’s standard of care: biologically different patients often receive the same treatments without knowing if those drugs will work. The conversation explores how functional precision medicine goes beyond traditional precision medicine by testing hundreds of FDA-approved drugs directly on a patient’s live tumor cells before treatment begins.
The episode dives into how AI, robotics, genomics, and large-scale drug sensitivity testing work together to help physicians identify which treatments are effective, and which ones could be useless or even harmful. Jim discusses real patient outcomes, including cases where testing prevented the use of drugs that would have worsened disease or caused severe damage, and highlights research showing significantly improved results for patients who had already failed standard treatments.
Vit and Jim also examine the economic and accessibility implications of this approach, its potential to reduce healthcare costs, and why functional precision medicine could become the future standard of cancer care. The episode concludes with a forward-looking discussion on innovation in healthcare, patient empowerment, and what it will take to move oncology from guessing to truly personalized, data-driven treatment.
Jim Foote is a former technology executive turned healthcare innovator whose work is deeply shaped by personal loss and firsthand experience with cancer care. He is best known for advancing functional precision medicine by combining genomics, live-cell drug testing, and AI-driven analysis to guide treatment decisions. His perspective matters because it connects real clinical outcomes with the technology needed to give doctors and patients clearer, faster, and more humane options.
Takeaways
- Cancer treatment still relies heavily on trial-and-error, even with modern medical technology.
- Two biologically different patients often receive the same cancer treatment based on population averages.
- Precision medicine based on DNA and RNA sequencing still cannot confirm if a drug will work before it’s given.
- Functional precision medicine tests drugs directly on a patient’s live tumor cells before treatment begins.
- Some FDA-approved cancer drugs can be completely ineffective or even make a patient’s cancer worse.
- Testing drugs outside the body can prevent patients from being exposed to harmful or useless treatments.
- AI and robotics enable hundreds of drug tests to be completed in days instead of weeks or months.
- In a published study, 83% of refractory cancer patients did better when treatment was guided by this approach.
- Knowing which drugs won’t work is just as important as knowing which ones will.
- Personalized, test-and-treat cancer care has the potential to improve outcomes while reducing overall healthcare costs.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
02:46 The Core Problem in Modern Cancer Care
04:16 Functional Precision Medicine Explained
06:42 How AI, Robotics, and Data Are Changing Cancer Treatment
10:01 How Cancer Drugs Are Tested Before Treatment
13:20 Personalized, Patient-Centric Cancer Care
18:22 Cost, Access, and the Economics of Cancer Treatment
22:19 The Future of Cancer Care and Patient Empowerment
25:21 Real Patient Outcomes and Success Stories
26:50 Why Functional Precision Medicine Is the Future
31:18 Predicting, Detecting, and Preventing Cancer Earlier
34:27 Where to Learn More About Functional Precision Medicine
36:12 Transforming Healthcare Beyond Trial-and-Error
37:27 Regulations, FDA Pathways, and Scaling Innovation
40:09 Why Cancer Is Affecting Younger Patients
41:17 Innovation Q&A
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Connect with Jim
- Website: https://firstascentbiomedical.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-foote/
- TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqLCgNxUhVc
Connect with Vit
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vit-lyoshin/
- X: https://x.com/vitlyoshin
- Website: https://vitlyoshin.com
Episode References
Nature Medicine (2024 Study)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-02848-4
A peer-reviewed medical journal where First Ascent Biomedical published a prospective study showing improved outcomes for refractory cancer patients guided by their platform.
Good Morning America (Patient Story)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK8dU_RUR_g
A national TV program featured a leukemia patient treated using this approach, illustrating the real-world impact.
Right to Try Act
https://www.fda.gov/patients/learn-about-expanded-access-and-other-treatment-options/right-try
U.S. legislation that allows terminally ill patients to access experimental treatments after failing standard care.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
https://www.cancer.gov
The U.S. government’s principal cancer research agency, referenced in the context of leadership alignment with functional precision medicine.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
https://www.dana-farber.org
A leading cancer research and treatment center, where the newly appointed NCI director mentioned in the episode practices.
NASA
https://www.nasa.gov
Referenced as an analogy for slow innovation due to high safety constraints in comparison to SpaceX.
SpaceX
https://www.spacex.com
Cited as an example of faster, cheaper, and safer innovation by combining existing technologies rather than redefining fundamentals.
