CFO Services Case Study
Relay Therapeutics
Relay Therapeutics deserved a finance function as bold as its science. TechCXO helped structure both for investor confidence.
“TechCXO built the foundation of the finance function and prepared the company for funding.”
— Sanjiv Patel, CEO, Relay Therapeutics
Overview
Relay Therapeutics is a clinical-stage precision medicine company transforming the drug discovery process. With a proprietary platform focused on protein motion and structure, Relay set out to tackle previously undruggable targets in oncology and genetic disease.
From its earliest days, Relay was positioned for high scientific impact. But to move confidently toward the public markets, it needed a finance infrastructure built to handle complexity, growth, and public-market demands. It needed the fractional expertise of TechCXO.
Challenges
Relay Therapeutics faced the dual challenge of scientific complexity and operational scale. It required:
- Expert finance leadership from startup to IPO
- Investor-grade financial operations and controls
- Strategic support for early-stage fundraising and growth
Launching a biotech company at the frontier of structural biology is one thing; building the financial foundation to support rapid growth and an IPO at the same time calls for exactly the right partner.
Goals
Preparing for its eventual IPO, Relay had to:
- Stand up a professional finance function from day one
- Support early funding rounds with credible modeling and reporting
- Guide financial strategy and operations through scale and scrutiny
Solutions
TechCXO embedded with Relay Therapeutics from inception, leading all finance and accounting operations during its startup and growth phases. TechCXO Managing Partner Chris Thomajan served as a fractional CFO, working alongside the original Third Rock Ventures team that launched Relay in 2015.
Together they:
- Built and led all financial operations through early growth and Series B financing
- Provided strategic guidance on capital formation and fundraising
- Engaged directly with Relay’s Board and investor syndicate, delivering clear, credible financial communications to support key funding milestones
- Helped recruit and onboard a full-time finance team as Relay scaled
As founding CFO, Chris Thomajan built Relay Therapeutics’ finance function from the ground up, supporting early growth, leading capital formation, and preparing the company for a high-visibility IPO.
Chris Thomajan, Partner, Fractional CFO
Chris served as Relay’s founding CFO, building the company’s finance function, supporting key rounds of financing, and guiding IPO readiness activities.
Outcome
Relay Therapeutics completed its IPO in July 2020 (Nasdaq: RLAY), raising $460 million in one of the year’s largest biotech debuts. With a finance foundation built for growth and accountability, Relay advanced from startup to public company with momentum and credibility. TechCXO delivered the executive leadership and infrastructure to align Relay’s breakthrough science with the financial discipline required for a successful public debut.
Science-backed.
Relay combined cutting-edge structural biology with a clear financial foundation, positioning itself as both a scientific and operational standout.
Markets ready.
With systems, leadership, and investor confidence in place, Relay debuted on Nasdaq in a $460 million IPO that signaled serious staying power.
Chris worked with the original Third Rock Ventures team and helped launch Relay in 2015. He and his team at TechCXO built the foundation of the finance function and prepared the company for the Series B financing. In this launch phase Chris became a trusted member of the initial management team and his ability to share experiences from many other start-ups he had worked on was very valuable.. As the company started to grow rapidly in 2018, Chris helped hire our full-time finance staff. Relay launched its IPO in July of 2020.
- Sanjiv Patel CEO, Relay Therapeutics
