Side Effects From Chemo Can Be Devastating. This Startup Aims To Change That.

“We believe that you can beat cancer without poisoning your body,” says CEO Dr. José M. Mejía Oneto, who has a PhD in organic chemistry and trained as a medical doctor. He says that conceptually Shasqi’s platform should be able to give patients higher doses of chemotherapy at the tumor site with fewer side effects.

Now he’s putting theory to the test. This month, Shasqi became the first of 300 healthcare startups funded by Mountain View-based Y Combinator to enter Phase 1 clinical trials in humans. Shasqi, which has 9 employees, has raised $18 million to date.