From Wall Street to C-Suite: Jason Kantor Decodes Biotech Fundraising

Jason Kantor brings more than “street cred” to his role as Chief Business Officer at Nurix. A veteran sell-side analyst who joined Nurix before its 2020 IPO, Kantor brings expertise in pattern recognition to drive the company’s investor relations, communications, and partnership strategies.  

We sat down to unpack how spending nearly two decades analyzing biotech companies informs his corporate leadership, how biotech funding has evolved over time, and his views on how companies can attract more deals and dollars by appealing to the investor mindset.

What we learned? In every market, connecting the dots of opportunity into an investable story can make or break a company. (This conversation has been edited and condensed.)

Q: Tell me about your journey to Nurix.

Jason: I started my career fresh out of graduate school in 1997 at a boutique shop called Josephthal, Lyon & Ross. I worked at several major firms on Wall Street, including Solomon Brothers before it was acquired by Smith Barney, J.P. Morgan before it was acquired by Chase, H & Q, WR Hambrecht & Co., Royal Bank of Canada, Credit Suisse, and Artisans Partners. I had the pleasure of working with legendary investors Franklin Berger and Bill Hambrecht, whose iconic personalities helped shape the field.

Being on Wall Street is like being a sportscaster for your favorite team or a reporter covering an amazing story: It’s a master class in pattern recognition. But on the biotechnology company side, there is a clear and compelling mission to advance drug discovery. You wake up every morning with the goal of pushing that ball down the court. Many people like me dream of leaving the spectator side to get in the game and transform that inside knowledge to action.

Q: How did your Wall Street experience lead you to Nurix and shape your approach to IR?

Jason: I knew I wanted to join Nurix because of longtime association with CEO Arthur Sands and interest in the field of BTK-targeted therapies through my coverage of Pharmacyclics. My approach to IR is heavily influenced and inspired by successful leaders I covered on Wall Street – Clay Siegall of Seattle Genetics and Len Schleifer of Regeneron – who were able to weave excitement about their technology’s potential into impactful stories. I put my own management team on that list as well.

Q: You joined Nurix just weeks before their IPO. How has your role and approach to communications evolved as the company has grown?

Jason: When I joined Nurix as Senior Vice President, Finance and Investment Strategy ahead of the company’s IPO, my focus was on increasing analyst coverage, bringing on new investors and building out IR internally. Over time, this morphed into a broader corporate communications and business strategy remit heading business development.

Now, I oversee all forms of communication at Nurix while partnering with medical affairs to craft two distinct message tracks: One that speaks directly to physicians and patients, and one that communicates data to a broader audience of investors, press, and potential collaborators. Being successful means combining the storytelling of IR with the pitching of business development. 

Q: How has biotech’s financing and fundraising landscape evolved and what challenges do companies face today?

Jason: Biotech financing remains fundamentally unchanged, yet external factors fluctuate. It’s a cash-hungry business where companies must continuously generate data to maintain investor interest. Most drugs take at least a decade from concept to profitability, challenging companies to advance technology, secure funding, and navigate market complexities.

When the science works, it’s transformative. Nurix, for example, is developing pills that selectively degrade specific proteins—a treatment modality unimaginable a decade ago. Successful biotech ventures can be both financially lucrative and profoundly beneficial to patients.

Q: What fundraising trends are you seeing and what advice do you have for emerging life sciences companies seeking capital?

Jason: Ultimately, there are only two sources of capital for an emerging technology company today: Partnerships and equity. Partnership, in my view, is one of the critical pillars of funding biotech companies for distributing risk, increasing capital for investment, and bringing more products to market. It’s also an opportunity to access outside expertise and learn from one another. Every great biotech company has partnership as part of their success story. Nurix has had several major collaborations, including with Gilead, Sanofi, and Pfizer.

Equity fund raising is also a critical part of financing biotech companies, which relies heavily on sophisticated investors who understand the timelines and risks of investing in biotech. If you do this right, your investors become financial partners with aligned interest and can often be a source of very helpful advice and market perspective. 

Q: How can IR and communications leaders help support fundraising and partnering efforts?

Jason: You need to have, and be able to tell, a good story. Investor audiences have powerful memories of the companies that have made them money, and even stronger ones of those who haven’t. They look for patterns and know when something works, whether it’s a successful management team, a compelling unmet medical need, or an amazing new technology. The extent to which you can stand out and leverage an aspect of your company’s story in a way that resembles the past success of another will determine your appeal. You don’t have to invent the path forward so much as show you have what it takes to succeed.

Q: What are some of the defining characteristics of a successful IR and communications function?

Jason: Number one is credibility. People must trust you’ll deliver on your promises. The same applies when communicating your story to audiences.

“Whether speaking to patients, doctors, investors, or internal stakeholders, building and maintaining company reputation should be a thread that runs through all communications in a coordinated way.”  

This requires a cross-functional effort that ensures messaging is accurate and consistent across all channels, and that the right ideas are amplified at the right times.

Q: What advice do you have for companies on the importance of integrating communications into their business and fundraising strategy?

Jason: Communications is critical to fundraising, and this only becomes more necessary as a company grows. Whether you’re utilizing an outside communications group, a talented CEO or building a communications department, your company needs a tremendous storyteller. It’s important to recognize that this person or function is not there to simply carry around investment books and schedule meetings – they are responsible for making your narrative resonate with all audiences.

Asking an investor, patient or employee to contribute to an effort requires a compelling reason that resonates with them personally and shows that their time and energy is worthwhile. This might be the memory of a successful investment, a hopeful new treatment, or an exciting workplace. Changes and challenges in the industry will come and go, but getting stakeholders invested in your story for the long haul will ensure your company goes the distance!