Building Execution Credibility Ahead of the Clinic
Preclinical · Cross-Functional · Confidential
How a lean European biotech strengthened execution confidence before first-in-human decisions.
Context
A Europe-based biotech with a highly specialized, lean team was advancing a preclinical portfolio toward first-in-human development while incubating additional assets behind it.
Leadership recognized that execution complexity would scale faster than headcount as programs matured—and that execution confidence would be tested well before clinical results.
Where Execution Risk Was Emerging
Execution friction was not occurring within functions, but between them.
- Timelines lived across disconnected tools and formats
- Dependencies and assumptions were difficult to pressure-test early
- Leadership views required manual consolidation
- Scenario decisions carried downstream risk that was not visible or quantified
The concern was not speed. It was entering the clinic with operational blind spots.
What We Did
We helped the team establish execution control before scale became a constraint. The focus was not tooling—it was execution scaffolding designed to scale.
- Created a single execution view across functions and external partners
- Made dependencies, assumptions, and decision points explicit
- Established a reliable leadership view of program trajectories and trade-offs
What Changed
Within a four-month pilot:- Leadership gained a single, trusted view of cross-program timelines
- Teams moved from fragmented trackers to a unified execution system
- Scenario decisions moved earlier with clearer trade-offs and accountability
- Example: A first-in-human geography planning decision was accelerated, reducing downstream timeline risk by approximately two months
Why This Held
- Timelines became decision tools, not static plans
- Ownership and assumptions were clarified early
- Execution signals stayed current as scope evolved
The team entered the next phase with confidence in execution, not just science.
Where This Fits Best
- Lean teams facing increasing execution complexity
- Programs approaching IND and first-in-human decisions
- Leadership teams that need timelines they can defend as the company scales
This case study reflects an anonymized preclinical engagement. Details have been
generalized to protect confidentiality.