# Cheng Liu

> Cheng Liu is the founder, President, and CEO of Eureka Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Emeryville, California. A molecular cell biologist trained at UC Berkeley and Peking University, Liu invented a novel class of TCR mimic antibodies that allow engineered T cells to recognize intracellular tumor antigens - a major challenge in treating solid tumors. Since founding Eureka in 2006 after a decade at Chiron/Novartis, he has built a pipeline of ARTEMIS T-cell therapies targeting liver cancer, multiple myeloma, and neuroblastoma, with the company's ECT204 program earning FDA RMAT Designation in January 2026 - one of the highest-priority designations the FDA gives to regenerative medicine therapies. Eureka has raised over $168 million in total funding and holds more than 500 patents worldwide.

- **Role:** Founder, President and CEO at Eureka Therapeutics, Inc.
- **Organizations:** Eureka Therapeutics, Inc., Chiron Corporation (now Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics), UC Berkeley
- **Nationality:** Chinese-American
- **Education:** B.S. in Cell Biology and Genetics, Peking University, Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Founded Eureka Therapeutics in 2006, growing it to a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with 50+ employees and $168M+ in total funding, Invented a novel class of TCR mimic antibodies enabling T cells to target intracellular tumor antigens - addressing a major limitation of conventional CAR-T therapy, Developed the ARTEMIS T-cell receptor platform and E-ALPHA phage display library (100+ billion antibody clones)

## Career timeline

- **1990-1996** — Doctoral studies in Molecular Cell Biology at UC Berkeley
- **1996-2006** — Principal Scientist, Antibody Drug Discovery at Chiron Corporation (later Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics); championed anti-CSF1 antibody program for bone metastasis into human clinical trials
- **2006** — Founded Eureka Therapeutics, Inc. in Emeryville, California with $2M in angel funding from Sandy Chau
- **2007** — Received Special U.S. Congressional Recognition for contributions to improving human health
- **2016** — Co-edited 'Biosimilars of Monoclonal Antibodies: A Practical Guide to Manufacturing, Preclinical, and Clinical Development' published by Wiley
- **2018** — Presented at CAR-TCR Summit; Eureka advances ARTEMIS T-cell receptor platform
- **2020** — Presented at Oppenheimer's Private Life Sciences Company Call Series and Asia Pharma R&D Leaders Summit
- **2022** — First patient treated with ECT204 (GPC3-targeting ARTEMIS therapy) at City of Hope; GPRC5D CAR-T study published in New England Journal of Medicine
- **2022** — Published 'Validation and promise of a TCR mimic antibody for cancer immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma' in Scientific Reports
- **2023** — Eureka awarded $10.6M CIRM grant for pediatric liver cancer (ARYA-2) trial; closed $20M debt financing
- **2023** — ECT204 Phase I completed (December 2023)
- **2026** — FDA grants RMAT (Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy) Designation to ECT204 for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (January 2026)

## Achievements

- Founded Eureka Therapeutics in 2006, growing it to a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with 50+ employees and $168M+ in total funding
- Invented a novel class of TCR mimic antibodies enabling T cells to target intracellular tumor antigens - addressing a major limitation of conventional CAR-T therapy
- Developed the ARTEMIS T-cell receptor platform and E-ALPHA phage display library (100+ billion antibody clones)
- Holds more than 500 patents and published patent applications worldwide (100+ issued)
- Championed anti-CSF1 antibody program at Chiron through human clinical trials
- Published GPRC5D-targeted CAR-T clinical study in the New England Journal of Medicine (2022)
- Secured FDA Fast Track Designation for HCC and hepatoblastoma treatments
- Secured FDA Orphan Drug Designation for ET140203 in HCC and hepatoblastoma
- Secured FDA Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for pediatric liver cancer therapy
- Received FDA RMAT (Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy) Designation for ECT204 in January 2026 - among the FDA's highest-priority designations
- Awarded $10.6M CIRM grant (2023) for pediatric liver cancer clinical trial
- Received Special U.S. Congressional Recognition in 2007 for contributions to improving human health
- Co-edited 'Biosimilars of Monoclonal Antibodies' (Wiley, 2016)

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — FDA grants RMAT (Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy) Designation to ECT204 (GPC3-targeting ARTEMIS T-cell therapy) for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
- **2023-12** — ECT204 Phase I clinical trial completed at City of Hope
- **2023-06** — Eureka Therapeutics awarded $10.6M CIRM grant to support ARYA-2 pediatric liver cancer clinical trial
- **2023-05** — Eureka Therapeutics closes $20M debt financing round

## Links

- Website: https://eurekatherapeutics.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/cheng-liu-42687a2a9
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/EurekaThera
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddRXzzQegIM
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eurekatherapeutics

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/cheng-liu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-17