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At the recent Informa Finance and Accounting Conference for Bioscience Companies, Erin Warner Guill, COO and Co-Founder of Auxilius, shared a timely and practical perspective on how today’s market and regulatory turbulence is reshaping biopharma finance. Drawing on Auxilius’ benchmarking survey of hundreds of finance leaders, conversations with top CFOs, and insights from former FDA officials and leading banks, Erin outlined both the challenges and the actionable strategies that can help companies thrive in today’s volatile environment.
Market Reality: Capital Scarcity and Investor Scrutiny
Biopharma finance leaders face a markedly different funding environment in 2025. IPO volumes are at historic lows, and fund flows have shifted dramatically, with $11.7B in net outflows year-to-date. Venture capital activity is down 20% from 2024, with fewer but larger deals. While pharma sits on $1.2T in M&A “firepower,” optimism for a market recovery is muted until at least 2026.
Layered on top of financial pressures are policy and regulatory uncertainties: proposed $44B in federal research cuts (80% targeting early-stage science), a reshaped FDA workforce, and ongoing drug pricing reforms. A regional case study of Massachusetts reveals lab vacancies, job losses, and capital being redirected from R&D to domestic bio manufacturing.
The message for CFOs and Controllers? Capital is constrained, investor expectations are higher, and every dollar must be justified with clear evidence of stewardship.
Shifting Investor Priorities
Investors are no longer rewarding “fundraising prowess” but instead gravitate toward companies that:
Auditors, too, are intensifying scrutiny. Clinical trial accruals have emerged as the leading Critical Audit Matter (CAM). In Auxilius’ benchmark survey, 80% of finance leaders reported heightened audit scrutiny and 84% cited R&D/clinical trial expenses as their most labor-intensive reporting area.
Translation: Without granular, accurate, and timely data, companies risk both investor confidence and audit readiness.
The Finance Leadership Imperative
Against this backdrop, Erin stressed that CFOs must move beyond traditional finance oversight to embrace capital efficiency and dynamic stewardship. This requires:
Why Site/Investigator Expenses Matter
A blinded case study illustrated how the materiality and timing of cash outlay of investigator expenses impacts a clinical-stage biotech with an 18-month runway and two Phase II programs.
Investigator expenses, which make up 30–50% of trial costs, were booked at $14.4M, but only $7.5M had actually been paid out due to CRO invoicing lags of 6–12 months (with outliers beyond 15 months).
The company faced a $6.9M blind spot on its P&L, with executives unable to predict when the cash outflow would actually hit.
With Auxilius, this example company can unify its actuals and forecasting, create audit-ready transparency, improve runway forecasting, and enable disciplined reallocation across its portfolio.
Turning Headwinds into Advantage
Erin outlined a practical roadmap for finance leaders:
Auxilius’ Role
Auxilius exists to help biopharma finance teams do exactly this. With automation across clinical accruals, site payments, and close workflows, Auxilius enables:
In short: Auxilius gives CFOs, Controllers, and clinical finance teams the tools to turn today’s market headwinds into a strategic advantage.
Looking Ahead
While the financing environment may remain constrained through 2025, disciplined financial management, accurate accruals, and technology-driven transparency are not just defensive tactics, they’re competitive advantages.
“In a world where capital is scarce and scrutiny is high, those who master financial stewardship will not just survive, they will be positioned to lead.”
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