Dr. Michael Wyand brings decades of leadership experience across biotech and life sciences, spanning executive, operational, and translational research roles. Over his career, he has guided programs from early discovery through clinical development.
When Wyand joined Mabloc as CEO, the scientific foundation was already strong. The company’s BRAID™ platform uses AI to accelerate the identification of therapeutic antibodies, dramatically shortening timelines compared to traditional discovery methods. Active research collaborations with institutions including OHSU, The George Washington University, Scripps, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of São Paulo were yielding promising results, and Mabloc’s lead yellow fever antibody had demonstrated complete protection in primate studies published in Science Translational Medicine.
What lagged behind the science was the financial backbone. Mabloc was relying on QuickBooks and spreadsheets, tools sufficient for very early startups, but not for a biotech managing complex research partnerships, long development timelines, and capital-intensive programs. The company lacked financial infrastructure designed to support the realities of modern biotech operations.
Most traditional accounting firms are not built to support drug development. They track invoices, close the month, and deliver standard financial statements. That works well for transactional businesses, but not for a biotech managing multiple antibody programs across institutions, each with distinct timelines, cost structures, and funding sources.
Mabloc required program-level financial visibility. Leadership needed to understand which antibody candidates were consuming the most resources, the true cost of advancing each program through preclinical validation, and how those expenditures aligned with runway planning and upcoming funding milestones.
Grant compliance added another layer of complexity. NIH SBIR funding carries strict regulatory requirements, including allowability tracking, effort reporting, and audit-ready documentation. Compliance errors can trigger repayment obligations and jeopardize future funding eligibility.
The company was also coordinating multiple research partnerships. OHSU conducting primate studies, the University of Wisconsin managing additional preclinical work, and the University of São Paulo preparing for eventual clinical trials. Each partnership involved different contractual terms, payment structures, and reporting obligations.
Function took over Mabloc’s full financial operations.
The finance and reporting structure was redesigned to track spending at the antibody-program level. MBL-YFV-01, Mabloc’s lead yellow fever candidate, was assigned its own cost center, alongside the dengue and Zika programs. Leadership could now see what each program actually cost, rather than an aggregated R&D spend.
We formalized the grant accounting to meet NIH compliance standards. SBIR expenses were tracked separately, properly categorized, and linked directly to required reporting, ensuring audit-ready documentation at all times.
The partnership accounting got structured properly from the start. When Instituto Butantan approached Mabloc to collaborate on advancing MBL-YFV-01 toward human clinical trials in Brazil, the financial framework was already in place supporting milestone-based revenue recognition, documented cost-sharing, and clear treatment of intellectual property considerations.
We built cost-to-complete models that were developed for each program. Not high-level burn rates–actual projections based on research timelines, partnership obligations, and regulatory requirements. Resource allocation and program sequencing decisions could now be made with financial analysis that directly supported scientific strategy.
Biotech investors don’t evaluate science in isolation. They assess whether leadership understands the business of drug development at a financial level. Can management articulate cost-to-complete by program? Do the financials reflect actual research progress? Can different scenarios be modeled to show their impact on the runway?
By the time Mabloc published its primate study results in Science Translational Medicine, the company’s financials reinforced the same story as its science. Program-level costs were clearly defined, assumptions were grounded in data, and leadership could speak with precision. When investors asked about program economics or runway, the answers were specific and defensible.
Financial analysis also became part of day-to-day operations. Questions were addressed in real time, without waiting for scheduled calls or static reports.
“Having financial systems that actually reflect how drug development works changes what’s possible. We can make resource allocation decisions based on real data, not intuition. When investors ask detailed questions about program costs or runway, we have answers immediately.”
Mabloc is developing antibody therapies targeting yellow fever, dengue, Zika, and other infectious diseases. Its BRAID™ platform is demonstrating how AI can accelerate antibody discovery, while the partnership with Instituto Butantan advances its lead program closer to patients.
Science isn’t enough. Advancing these programs requires capital, and investors expect financial operations that reflect the same level of rigor as the science. When financial systems can clearly articulate program-level costs, milestone-based runway, and partnership economics, fundraising discussions begin from a position of credibility rather than defense.
Function provided Mabloc with financial systems designed to support capital raising, systems that withstand diligence and reinforce the company’s scientific narrative.
About Mabloc
Mabloc is redefining antibody discovery through BRAID™, its proprietary AI-powered platform that accelerates the path from target to treatment. By combining deep learning with advanced bioinformatics, Mabloc identifies rare, highly potent antibodies that address infectious diseases, envenomation, oncology, and neurodegenerative disease indications.
Function provided strategic CFO-level guidance and embedded finance expertise during Bushel's transition from their outgoing controller to the new permanent CFO. They implemented structured financial systems and maintained investor confidence throughout the transition period.
Function implemented a streamlined KPI dashboard and redesigned Bushel's board reporting structure, giving leadership clear visibility into performance metrics and enabling more effective investor communication and decision-making.
Function builds scalable systems and documents all processes from day one, so incoming finance leaders inherit well-structured operations with complete strategic context, enabling them to be effective immediately rather than spending months getting up to speed.
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