Welcome to Partnology’s Biotech Leader Spotlight Series, where we highlight the remarkable accomplishments and visionary leadership of biotech industry pioneers. This series is about showcasing the groundbreaking strides made by exceptional leaders who have transformed scientific possibilities into tangible realities. Through insightful interviews, we invite you to join us in following the inspiring journeys of these executives who continue to shape the landscape of the biotech industry. This week we are recognizing:
John Fair is the President and CEO of J3 Bioscience, a biotechnology company reimagining how therapies are delivered through its proprietary intravaginal ring (IVR) platform to address some of the most persistent challenges in women’s health. With more than twenty years of leadership experience in women’s health, medical device and specialty pharmaceuticals, John has driven growth and innovation through senior roles in strategy, marketing, operations, and business development. He holds a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, a BA from Rider University, and has completed executive education in Mergers and Acquisitions at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Can you walk us through your career journey and how you arrived at leading J3 Bioscience? What are the key lessons you’ve learned from navigating the transition from operational roles (COO, CBO) to CEO?
It’s been an interesting and diverse journey. I began my career in consulting at a boutique firm specializing in leadership development. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time — partnering with major pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer during a period of significant investment in leadership development and organizational strategy.
That experience gave me an early appreciation for leadership frameworks and a deep understanding of how mission, vision, and values drive a company. I learned how those principles are communicated from the top, the importance of leading by example, and how culture and leadership translate throughout an organization. As a very junior professional, I immersed myself completely — intent on learning from every experience — while working with amazing companies developing innovative, life-changing medicines for oncology.
Our consulting work was primarily focused on the commercial side rather than R&D, so I gained a strong understanding of how commercial leadership teams function in large organizations. I observed how business units are structured — how sales and marketing teams integrate under commercial leaders — and how leadership cascades through every layer of the company. It reinforced the core pillars of effective leadership, which for me include personal accountability as the foundation of trust and credibility, a deep commitment to continuous learning as the driver of adaptability, and the intentional development of new skills and competencies as the pathway to sustained personal and professional growth.
Eventually, I transitioned into analytics and strategy, focusing on the “science” of commercialization. This shift meant placing greater emphasis on data-driven decision-making — understanding market dynamics, competitive share, and product performance. In oncology specifically, that involved analyzing how newly launched products were being used in real-world settings, including utilization in combination with other therapies, across disease stages and different lines of therapy, and how these factors influenced in-market performance and overall impact at the brand and business unit level.
Through that experience, I learned the mechanics of commercialization: data analytics, strategy, and understanding the business by the numbers. Marrying those two experiences — leadership and analytics — set me up for future operating roles, where I could lead both strategically and organizationally.
Tell us more about J3 Bioscience – what are you currently working on and what excites you most about the next phase of J3’s journey?
J3 represents the culmination of everything I’ve been building toward throughout my career. In my most recent roles — first as President and COO of an emerging women’s health company, and later as Chief Business & Commercial Officer of a small-cap, publicly traded women’s health company — I gained a deep understanding of the women’s health landscape, from its unique opportunities and unmet needs to the real-world challenges of creating sustainable value and impact.
What those experiences taught me is that while having differentiated, innovative products is absolutely essential, it’s not the only ingredient for success — especially in today’s environment of complex reimbursement dynamics and payer economics. Women’s health remains a particularly challenging space for innovation, given those systemic hurdles.
At J3, we see an opportunity to think differently. We’re not focused exclusively on conditions that affect only women — though those remain critical areas, such as hormone-mediated conditions like menopause and fertility, where there are still significant unmet needs. We’re also looking at conditions that disproportionately or differently affect women, where innovation has lagged behind. There’s tremendous potential to develop novel solutions for those indications and to close long-standing gaps in care.
Our foundation is a proprietary intravaginal ring (IVR) drug delivery platform, which we’re actively advancing and optimizing. Today, we have an over-the-counter, non-prescription product application, but we are simultaneously evaluating prescription (Rx) pathways that leverage the same core technology to deliver active pharmaceutical compounds.
In short, J3 represents the continuation of a mission to advance innovative technologies that redefine how we approach women’s health and address a broad spectrum of unmet needs.
Women’s health has historically been underinvested. Can you share your experience with fundraising, investor engagement, and building credibility for early-stage women’s health ventures?
Yes, I believe that’s absolutely true. It continues to be a challenge, but progress is being made—particularly as more women take on leadership roles in venture capital and institutional investing. Greater female representation at the decision-making table brings broader perspectives and ultimately makes the conversation more relevant and impactful.
One of the main challenges we face with investors is that many don’t have a frame of reference for the women’s health category. They don’t fully understand it, which means it takes a fair amount of education to help them see the unmet needs and opportunities that exist. And that’s not going away anytime soon. This is still a very underrepresented space—despite being a huge category. In terms of knowledge base, media coverage, and publications, women’s health still lags far behind areas like oncology, for example.
So, it will always require education and advocacy from those working in this field. But once investors start to see the potential, the opportunity is enormous. There’s a growing body of data and an increasing number of VCs now dedicated to women’s health, which is fantastic. They’re publishing new content that highlights the unmet needs and showcases just how much value can be created in these areas.
Overall, I think we’re seeing a nice tailwind—more traction, more visibility, and more interest around women’s health innovation.
How do you see digital health, AI, or other emerging technologies shaping the future of women’s health diagnostics and therapeutics over the next 5-10 years?
I think AI is going to—just as it has in so many other areas—completely revolutionize the way we discover and develop new technologies, whether that’s devices or drugs. From target identification and biomarker discovery to understanding novel molecules and optimizing them before moving to traditional non-clinical methods of development, AI enables us to simulate environments digitally before we ever reach a human study. These are truly transformative advancements in how we approach development.
It’s incredibly exciting to see where AI is heading and how it’s shaping the future of our field. That said, I think it’s important to remain realistic. Having spent years in oncology, I’ve seen many “breakthroughs” that were thought to be the next cure, only to be humbled by the complexity of biology. Progress is often incremental—each step builds on the last, and meaningful breakthroughs come from persistence, patience, and ongoing dedication.
So, while AI will undoubtedly accelerate innovation, we need to stay grounded in the fact that it’s still human capital—our creativity, critical thinking, and execution—that ultimately bring these technologies to life and deliver real value to patients.
Many biotech leaders struggle with commercializing early-stage innovations. How do you approach aligning scientific innovation with market potential?
I think that’s the real challenge—you have to stay disciplined and objective, which isn’t always easy in an early-stage company. It’s natural to become passionate about your technology and want others to see its potential the same way you do. You believe it’s going to succeed, maybe even become a blockbuster. But at the same time, you have to stay grounded and realistic about market dynamics. There’s usually data, insights, and benchmarks that can help guide your decisions—if you’re willing to look for them.
I’ve always been a strong advocate for bringing commercial insights into the process as early as possible—that’s the background I come from. Even during a Phase 2 program, I want to understand the market landscape: What do payers think about this category? How are they approaching reimbursement? What level of evidence would they consider appropriate? Those insights are critical to determining whether a product can truly succeed commercially.
I am a firm believer that regulatory success does not equal commercial success. Just because a product gets approved doesn’t mean it will be commercially viable. You have to understand both sides of the equation—the clinical differentiation as well as the commercial environment you’re launching into—if you want to deliver real value to your stakeholders, whether that’s shareholders, founders, or most importantly, patients.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring biotech CEOs, what would it be?
Know that it is your job to lead the entire organization but also have a deep understanding and appreciation for what you’re good at—where your skills, competencies, and expertise are needed most—and build a team with complementary skills and strengths. Try to find the most talented people you can afford, empower them to excel, and create an environment where collaboration and accountability drive success. At the end of the day, it’s people who make the difference.
