Pharma · Biotech · Business Development · Strategy · Capital Formation

Moving life sciences companies up the growth curve.

Y·Axis Bio brings experience on both sides of the deal table, analytical rigor, and direct capital-raising experience to the founders, companies, and investors navigating life sciences' most consequential moments.

Y·Axis·Bio
The Y-axis is the growth axis — the dimension that measures how far a company has come and how far it can go. That's the work.
>$10B
in transactions across dozens of deals — buy & sell side
$156M+
capital raised across Series B, PIPE, SBIR, state & angel
20+
years in pharma & biotech BD, strategy & company building
All stages
startup to large-cap across both sides of the table

The rigor behind the decisions

Most BD advisors bring relationships and process. Y·Axis Bio brings that plus the analytical infrastructure to know which assets are worth pursuing, what a deal is actually worth, and where to focus limited resources. Every engagement is grounded in quantitative work — not just strategic instinct.

Strategic portfolio prioritization

Structured frameworks for ranking assets, programs, and BD opportunities — so leadership can make confident resource allocation decisions rather than debating on instinct.

Weighted scoring rubrics across scientific, commercial, and competitive dimensions
Target-indication pair ranking for BD and partnering conversations
Portfolio-level strategy for biotech boards and pharma leadership teams

Commercial analysis

Rigorous market assessment that goes beyond TAM slides — epidemiology, competitive landscape, pricing analogues, and payer dynamics, built to hold up in a partner or investor meeting.

Market sizing with primary and secondary source triangulation
Competitive landscape mapping and differentiation analysis
Commercial opportunity assessment for BD target evaluation

KOL engagement & expert intelligence

Direct engagement with key opinion leaders and clinical experts to validate scientific hypotheses, understand clinical practice reality, and stress-test commercial assumptions before committing to a strategy or deal.

KOL identification, outreach, and structured interview design
Clinical practice landscape and standard-of-care mapping
Expert network synthesis into actionable strategic intelligence

Financial modeling

Deal economics and portfolio valuation built for real decisions — not just NPV outputs, but scenario analysis, sensitivity testing, and milestone structuring that reflects how deals actually get done.

Risk-adjusted NPV and deal economics modeling
Milestone, royalty, and upfront structure optimization
Portfolio valuation and capital allocation modeling for boards
Why this matters: The best BD strategy is only as good as the analysis underneath it. Y·Axis Bio doesn't separate the quantitative work from the strategic work — they're built together, so the decisions that come out are grounded in both rigor and real-world deal experience.

Full-stack BD & strategy

From the analytical work that informs decisions to the execution that closes deals — across every stage of the engagement lifecycle.

Portfolio prioritization

Weighted scoring frameworks for ranking assets and BD opportunities — so teams allocate resources to what matters most.

Commercial analysis

Market sizing, competitive landscape, pricing analogues, and payer dynamics — built to hold up in partner and investor meetings.

KOL engagement

Structured expert interviews to validate scientific and commercial assumptions before committing to a strategy or deal.

Corporate strategy

Competitive positioning, portfolio strategy, M&A target identification, and board-level strategic advisory.

Competitive intelligence

Deep-dive CI on pipeline activity, deal dynamics, and strategic positioning — actionable for senior leadership and boards.

Opportunity evaluation

Scientific, commercial, and financial assessment of in-licensing or out-licensing opportunities — with modeling to back the view.

Process management

End-to-end BD process design — data room, CDA management, partner sequencing, and competitive tension management.

Term sheet structuring

Deal economics design, milestone architecture, and royalty structuring — grounded in financial modeling and market comps.

Fractional BD leadership

Embedded BD function for companies that need senior leadership without a full-time hire — scalable up or down with your needs.

Capital strategy

Matching your stage and story to the right capital instrument — institutional equity, non-dilutive, PIPE, or hybrid approaches.

SBIR / STTR grants

Strategy, writing support, and submission management for NIH, NSF, DoD, and other federal non-dilutive programs.

State & regional funds

Identification and navigation of state economic development funds, life sciences-specific programs, and regional grants.

Angel & seed capital

Early-stage investor targeting, pitch preparation, and process management for pre-institutional raises.

Investor financial modeling

Capitalization modeling, use-of-proceeds planning, and valuation frameworks built for investor conversations.

Company formation

Concept through incorporation — operating model, founding team strategy, IP structure, and early capital plan.

Operating model design

Organizational structure, team formation, and operating rhythm design for early-stage and growth-stage companies.

Go-to-market strategy

Commercial launch planning, market entry strategy, and partner channel development for new products and markets.

Growth strategy

Scaling playbook development, BD function buildout, and strategic planning for companies moving from early to growth stage.

Board advisory

Independent board roles with operating depth — BD, strategy, and capital experience informing governance at every stage.

Built for six types of client

Each engagement starts from a clear understanding of who you are and what you're actually trying to solve.

Fluent on both sides of the table

Buy side — large pharma

Deep operational experience running buy-side BD at Takeda — evaluating assets, structuring deals, and executing acquisitions across oncology and beyond. Understanding what pharma BD teams need to say yes, and how decisions actually get made internally.

Sell side — biotech

Hands-on experience leading sell-side processes at bluebird bio, 2seventy bio, and GlycoEra — positioning assets for partnership, running competitive processes, and negotiating with large pharma counterparties from the other side of the table.

Having sat on both sides, Y·Axis Bio can represent a client on either — anticipating the counterparty's position, structuring deals that hold, and guiding clients through complexity that stalls less experienced advisors.

The founder

Greg Fralish, PhD founded Y·Axis Bio after 20+ years at the intersection of pharma and biotech — running buy-side BD at Takeda, leading sell-side processes at bluebird bio, 2seventy bio, and GlycoEra, and building companies from scratch as founder and CEO of Ziel Bio.

That experience spans more than $10B in transactions across dozens of deals, a $130M Series B financing, a $20M PIPE investment, and hands-on capital formation through SBIR grants, state funds, and angel investment — at organizations ranging from venture-backed startups to large-cap pharmaceutical companies.

The name reflects a simple idea: the Y-axis is the growth axis. That's the work. Based in Greater Boston. Available for retained engagements, project-based work, and board advisory roles.

Prior organizations

GlycoEra · bluebird bio / 2seventy bio · Takeda · Ziel Bio · UVA · Cato BioVentures

Education

PhD, Biochemistry — University of Georgia · NIH NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, Duke University

Start a conversation

Most engagements begin with a direct conversation. Tell us where you are and what you're trying to solve — we'll be direct about whether and how Y·Axis Bio can help.

contact@yaxisbio.com linkedin.com/in/gregfralish
Greater Boston, MA