Kate Tallman
Life Sciences & Healthcare

From scientific vision
to investment-grade
strategy.

I work fractionally with pre-Series A biotech and healthcare companies to build the financial models and commercial narratives that give investors and partners what they need to decide.

Every engagement delivers models, analyses, and plans your team owns — documented, assumption-transparent, and structured for your investor data room and for continued use after our work together ends.
About Kate
"I've spent 20 years building the financial models and business cases that close complex deals — including as a co-founder who has been through a Series A. I bring that same rigor to early-stage companies preparing to do the same."

My career spans university technology transfer, corporate strategy at a public diagnostics company, and independent consulting — always at the intersection of science, finance, and commercial strategy. I work with founders who need senior-level thinking at a critical moment, without the full-time cost.

SomaLogic (NASDAQ: SLGC) · University of Colorado
Services

Where I can help.

01
Financial Modeling & FP&A

Pro forma models and patient-based forecasts that clarify your business for investors and partners — grounded in primary research, not assumptions.

Delivered as documented, assumption-transparent models your team continues to use.

02
Commercial Strategy

Market sizing, payer discovery, and go-to-market planning grounded in what payers and providers actually say.

Delivered as usable playbooks and analyses, structured for your data room.

03
Partnerships & BD

From partnership search through term sheet, negotiation, and alliance management — with a proven track record at every scale.

Alliance structures and operating models built to run without me.

Services

Senior expertise,
fractional engagement.

I work with pre-Series A life science and healthcare companies when vision needs to become investment-grade strategy. Every engagement produces tangible deliverables — models, analyses, and playbooks structured for your investor data room — that your team owns and continues to use after our work together ends.

01
Financial Modeling & FP&A

A financial model is how investors understand your business. I build governance-ready models grounded in primary research — patient-based, assumption-transparent, and structured so your team can maintain and update them independently.

I use AI tools to accelerate research and data compilation efficiently. Every key assumption is verified against primary sources and domain expertise — so your budget goes further without sacrificing rigor.

  • Pro forma revenue models and income statements
  • Patient-based peak sales forecasting
  • Scenario and sensitivity analysis
  • Payer channel and gross-to-net pricing models
  • Series A/B fundraising support
  • Strategic alliance and partnership valuation
Case Study

Built a patient-based revenue forecast and multi-channel payer pricing model for a Phase 3 therapeutics company — grounded in primary payer and provider interviews and used in their Series A fundraising process.

Every model is documented, assumption-transparent, and structured for your investor data room — and for continued use by your team after our engagement ends.
02
Commercial Strategy

Before you can model the revenue, you have to understand the market. I combine quantitative analysis with primary customer research — interviewing payers, providers, and potential partners — to build commercial strategies grounded in what the market actually looks like.

  • Market sizing and competitive analysis
  • Payer and provider discovery interviews
  • Value proposition development
  • Go-to-market planning and commercial playbook
  • Milestone and runway planning for staged financing
  • SBIR/STTR Technology and Business Assistance (TABA)
Case Study

Payer and provider interviews for a CNS therapeutics company reshaped both the revenue model and Phase 3 trial endpoint design — substantiating the investment story with real-world evidence.

Delivered as plans and analyses your team can act on — and that substantiate your investment story with documented, primary-source evidence.
03
Partnerships & Business Development

Strategic partnerships can define a company's trajectory. I've structured deals from term sheet through closing — and managed the alliances that followed — at every scale, from university spinout to publicly traded company.

  • Partnership search and opportunity assessment
  • Term sheet development and agreement negotiation
  • Alliance management and operations
  • IP strategy
  • In-licensing and technology transfer
Case Study

Payer and provider interviews for a CNS therapeutics company informed both the revenue model and Phase 3 trial endpoint design – substantiating the investment case with market evidence.

Alliance management structures and operating models are handed off when the engagement ends — built to run without me.
Case Studies

Work that moved
the needle.

Four projects across financial modeling, commercial strategy, and partnerships — each producing deliverables the client continued to use long after the engagement ended.

Financial Modeling · Therapeutics
Building the Financial Case for a Phase 3 Drug Asset

A seed-stage CNS company needed more than a spreadsheet — they needed a defensible, investor-ready financial model grounded in real market evidence. I built it from first principles, combining primary payer and provider research with a rigorous patient-based revenue forecast.

Independent consultant · CNS therapeutics
Financial Modeling · Commercial Strategy
Modeling the Revenue Hidden in an Evaluation Pipeline

A genomics tools company had strong technology and growing customer interest — but little to show investors yet. The revenue potential was there, just invisible in early-stage evaluation data. I built a model that made it visible.

Independent consultant · Genomics tools
Partnerships · International Alliance
Major Strategic Alliance: From Business Case to Market Launch

I was tasked with transforming an existing strategic alliance into a new product launch, bringing a proteomic diagnostics platform to market in Japan. I built the financial forecast and business case, negotiated the deal terms and led the implementation through to market launch.

Director, Strategic Alliances · SomaLogic
Financial Modeling · Fundraising
Series A Fundraising as a Founding Team Member

Before I was a consultant, I was a founder. As the marketing and financial lead at Roving Planet — one of the first wireless LAN security companies — I owned the business plan, financial model, and due diligence process for a Series A fundraising round.

Co-founder & Financial Lead · Roving Planet
Financial Modeling · Therapeutics

Building the Financial Case for a Phase 3 Drug Asset

Role: Independent consultant Client: Seed-stage CNS therapeutics company
A seed-stage CNS company needed more than a spreadsheet — they needed a defensible, investor-ready financial model grounded in real market evidence. I built it from first principles, combining primary payer and provider research with a rigorous patient-based revenue forecast.

The Challenge

The founding team had deep scientific expertise but no commercial infrastructure. They needed to validate their revenue assumptions with primary market research and translate that into a financial model that would hold up under investor scrutiny — without the budget for a full-time commercial team.

What I Did

  • Conducted semi-structured interviews with physicians on standard of care, prescribing intent, and evidence requirements — directly informing timing and adoption assumptions in the model.
  • Interviewed payers to understand utilization management practices and evidence thresholds, grounding reimbursement timing in real-world payer behavior rather than optimistic projections.
  • Built a patient-based peak sales forecast with scenario analysis, modeled gross-to-net pricing across Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial, State Exchange, and direct-to-consumer channels.
  • Used agentic AI tools to efficiently compile clinical guidelines, downstream cost data, and comparable drug pricing benchmarks — then verified every key assumption against primary sources and domain expertise.

Outcome

The company entered their Series A process with a financial model grounded in primary research — one their team could defend assumption-by-assumption. The provider interviews also surfaced insights that directly informed Phase 3 trial endpoint design, a deliverable that extended well beyond the financial model itself.

Working on a similar challenge?

Let's talk →
Deliverables
  • Patient-based revenue forecast with scenario and sensitivity analysis
  • Payer channel pricing model (WAC and net reimbursement by payer type)
  • Synthesis of primary payer and provider interview findings
  • Commercialization plan section structured for investor data room
📁

All supporting analysis is documented professionally and structured for inclusion in an investor data room.

Financial Modeling · Commercial Strategy

Modeling the Revenue Hidden in an Evaluation Pipeline

Role: Independent consultant Client: Early-stage genomics research tools company
A genomics tools company had strong technology and growing customer interest — but little to show investors yet. The revenue potential was there, just invisible in early-stage evaluation data. I built a model that made it visible.

The Challenge

The team could only show investors very small revenue from product evaluations. They needed to credibly paint a picture of the revenue streams that could realistically emerge from that evaluation activity — across five distinct product lines, custom development projects, and sporadic but potentially large clinical diagnostic conversions.

What I Did

  • Mapped five distinct products aimed at different market segments, each with its own growth and adoption curves, into a single integrated revenue model.
  • Modeled custom development projects that yielded new control sequences for inventory and product development — capturing how these triggered growth in both price and adoption over time.
  • Built a simulation to model the sporadic but high-value conversions from R&D evaluation sales into clinical diagnostic use — where a fraction of evaluation customers convert to dramatically larger unit volumes. A standard forecast would either ignore these or wildly overstate them; the simulation modeled them probabilistically.
  • Designed the model from the start to be handed off: clearly documented assumptions, modular structure, and a logic the team could follow, update, and present to investors independently.

Outcome

The model gave the team a credible, detailed picture of where their revenue could go — grounded in the evaluation activity they already had. It became their primary tool for investor conversations and internal planning, structured to be updated by the team as their pipeline evolved.

Working on a similar challenge?

Let's talk →
Deliverables
  • Integrated five-product revenue model with distinct adoption curves per segment
  • Custom development project revenue flywheel model
  • Probabilistic simulation for clinical diagnostic conversion opportunities
  • Fully documented assumption framework for ongoing team use
  • Model structured for investor data room presentation
📁

All supporting analysis is documented professionally and structured for inclusion in an investor data room.

Partnerships · International Alliance

Major Strategic Alliance: From Business Case to Market Launch

Role: Director, Strategic Alliances — SomaLogic (NASDAQ: SLGC) Client: Internal corporate role
I was tasked with transforming an existing strategic alliance into a new product launch, bringing a proteomic diagnostics platform to market in Japan. I built the financial forecast and business case, negotiated the deal terms and led the implementation through to market launch.

The Challenge

The company had a long-standing relationship with a Japanese partner but needed a new commercial structure to allow for development and commercialization of clinical diagnostics. The opportunity required building a compelling financial case for a complex, first-of-its-kind diagnostics launch in an unfamiliar market – and securing Board-level commitment.

What I Did

  • Negotiated a significant, long-term strategic alliance agreement, aligning business terms with the long-term commercial requirements of both organizations.
  • Secured C-suite and Board approval by presenting a financial model that gave executives the clarity to allocate resources and prioritize the alliance appropriately.
  • Led implementation: established joint working groups, internal cross-functional teams, and a collaboration cadence that carried the project from signed agreement to successful market launch in Japan.
  • Onboarded a permanent alliance manager and handed off a fully functioning partnership operating model – leaving the organization with a durable structure, not a dependency.

Outcome

The alliance closed and launched on schedule. The financial model I built became the ongoing tool for internal resource allocation and executive communication throughout the partnership.

Working on a similar challenge?

Let's talk →
Deliverables
  • Full business case with market analysis and P&L projections
  • Negotiated alliance agreement
  • Alliance management operating model and working group structure
  • Successful diagnostic product launch in Japan
📁

All supporting analysis is documented professionally and structured for inclusion in an investor data room.

Financial Modeling · Fundraising

Series A Fundraising as a Founding Team Member

Role: Co-founder & Marketing/Financial Lead Client: Roving Planet (acquired by 3Com)
Before I was a consultant, I was a founder. As the marketing and financial lead at Roving Planet — one of the first wireless LAN security companies — I owned the business plan, financial model, and due diligence process for a Series A fundraising round.

The Challenge

We were building a new product category in a rapidly shifting technology landscape. The financial model had to make the case for a market that didn't fully exist yet, while remaining credible to sophisticated investors who would stress-test every assumption.

What I Did

  • Built the revenue projections, grounded in detailed analysis of our beachhead customer segment and realistic product adoption assumptions.
  • Owned the business plan and go-to-market strategy, translating our technical differentiation into a commercial narrative investors could evaluate.
  • Led financial due diligence, working directly with investors to defend assumptions and respond to scrutiny.
  • Maintained alignment between the financial model and our evolving product strategy as we learned from early customers — keeping the story coherent through pivots.

Outcome

Roving Planet closed its Series A. After my departure, the company went on to raise an additional $20M and was acquired by 3Com. The experience gave me a founder's understanding of what a financial model is really for — not to predict the future, but to demonstrate disciplined thinking and keep the whole team aligned as circumstances change.

Working on a similar challenge?

Let's talk →
Deliverables
  • Financial model and revenue projections
  • Business plan and go-to-market strategy
  • Due diligence materials
  • Investor-ready data room documentation
📁

All supporting analysis is documented professionally and structured for inclusion in an investor data room.

Ideas

Thinking out loud on
life sciences strategy.

Practical perspectives on financial modeling, fundraising, and commercial strategy for early-stage biotech and healthcare companies.

Financial Modeling ·April 2025
Most SBIR Applicants Leave $50,000 on the Table

TABA funding is one of the most underutilized line items in federal grant proposals. Most agencies allow up to $50,000 in Phase 2. Here's how to scope a project that makes the highest impact — and produces deliverables your company keeps.

Read article
Business Development ·October 2024
How to Prepare for JP Morgan Healthcare Conference

The JP Morgan Healthcare Conference is the year's most important BD event for life sciences. Here's a practical week-by-week framework for how business development leaders can make the most of the months before the conference.

Read article