Biotechnology
Biotech firms operate at the intersection of science and capital, where financial clarity is essential to funding milestones, compliance, and long-term strategy.
Ascend equips life science innovators with financial systems that grow as fast as their research.
How we help
We work with early-stage and growth-phase biotech companies to design accounting and reporting structures that support grant funding, venture investment, and complex R&D expense tracking. Whether pre-revenue or post-commercialization, Ascend helps clients align financial systems with scientific timelines by enabling clean audit trails, real-time budget control, and investor-grade reporting. production realities.
Our team integrates seamlessly to reduce operational drag and extend the runway between funding rounds.
“The team at Ascend translated our science into financials investors could trust, and helped us pass a pre-diligence audit faster than we ever thought possible...”
Case Study: Biotech Client
The Challenge:
An early-stage biotech firm with active NIH funding and a pre-clinical R&D pipeline lacked a financial system capable of tracking project-based burn, grant compliance, or investor reporting. Their generic accounting software created confusion around restricted funds and milestone billing.
The Solution:
Ascend implemented a project-level accounting framework configured to distinguish grant and equity funding and aligned reporting to NIH’s Uniform Guidance requirements. A custom-built dashboard tracked spend by research track and modeled funding runway based on actual burn rates. As a result, the company passed its grant compliance audit and secured an additional $4M in follow-on investment within six months.
“We were moving fast with three active research tracks, SBIR funding, and two rounds of early-stage investment - but our accounting was stuck in a generic template that didn’t reflect how biotech works. Ascend built a grant-compliant system that tracks R&D costs by project, aligns with NIH reporting requirements, and maps our burn rate to key scientific milestones.
With their help, we passed a pre-diligence audit in one week and delivered our first board package that actually made sense. They speak ‘science and finance’ fluently.”