FP&A for biotech

Financial planning and analysis at a clinical-stage company is a model of when money leaves, not when it arrives. The drivers are headcount by function, the clinical plan with enrollment curves and site counts, manufacturing campaigns, and the recurring cost base. The output is a monthly cash forecast that extends past the next readout and the next raise.

Scenarios matter more than precision. What happens to runway if enrollment slips two quarters, if a second cohort is added, if the CDMO batch fails, or if the raise is delayed until after the data? A model that answers those questions in an afternoon is worth more than one accurate to the dollar.

The finance team's contribution is to make the operating plan and the financing plan the same plan, so that the board is choosing between options rather than reacting to a cash date.