Project Leadership for Biotech
MustardSeed brings precision project leadership to biotech companies across the development lifecycle. We embed into your program, connect what isn't connected, and give leadership the operational visibility to execute with confidence.
Steve Curry
Founder, MustardSeed · PMP Certified · Former Boeing, PerkinElmer
"Great science doesn't fail in the lab. It fails in the gaps between functional teams, between partners, and between plans that were never connected in the first place."
Rachel Sha
CEO, Terrestrial Bio
“When MustardSeed came in, we had strong plans across functions but no unified view of how everything connected. They built an integrated master schedule and tools that brought everything into one system, giving us real transparency into dependencies and risks. Within weeks, leaders were identifying gaps they hadn’t seen before, and we’re now planning and executing faster with greater confidence.”
A Multi-Vendor Breakdown With $500K on the Line
$500K at risk. No plan. Multiple vendors pointing in different directions. Following an acquisition, a regulated biotech site had stalled on a critical system upgrade with a hard deadline and no clear path forward. MustardSeed stepped in to surface the real work, align the team, and restore control. → Read the full case study
How a Project Management Office Accelerated Delivery by 124%
124% faster delivery. Science teams back where they belong. A growing biotech had the innovation, but without a central project management structure, timelines slipped, resources were stretched thin, and science teams were losing time to scheduling and coordination work. MustardSeed built the operational foundation that let them focus on research, accelerating delivery by 124%. → Read the full case study
The Problem
Across every stage of biotech development, the same operational failure patterns appear. They look different at Pre-IND versus Phase II Clinical Trial versus commercial launch. But the root cause is the same: the infrastructure behind the science hasn't kept pace with the program's complexity.
Milestones slip without warning
Dependencies across functions and partners go untracked until a delay is already in motion. By then, course-correcting costs more than preventing it would have.
Partner delays go undetected
CROs, CDMOs, and vendors self-report. Without independent oversight, problems surface weeks after the window to respond has already closed.
No clear view of spend versus progress
Budget, burn, and milestones live in separate systems. Leadership can't confidently answer the question investors ask most: are we on track relative to runway?
Execution concentrated in a few people
When program knowledge lives in individual memory rather than a system, every personnel change, absence, or scale-up creates structural risk.
Board reporting assembled by hand
Every board meeting triggers a scramble. Milestones, risks, and spend are pulled from different sources, reconciled manually, and often already outdated by the time they're presented.
Risk is managed reactively
Without a live risk register tied to real program data, leadership finds out about problems at the same time they become crises. There is no early warning system.
How We Help
MustardSeed certified project managers work inside your team, not alongside it. We build the systems, processes, and visibility tools your program needs to execute with discipline, then hand them over completely.
Program visibility
A single integrated view of every workstream, partner, risk, and milestone. Leadership sees the full program in one place.
Risk and milestone protection
Active risk tracking and partner oversight so issues are visible before they become delays, not after.
Investor and board confidence
Board-ready reporting and financial visibility built into the system. Hard investor questions get answered fast.
Partner and vendor governance
CROs, CDMOs, and vendors governed through structured oversight frameworks, not informal relationships.
PMO establishment
For organizations ready to formalize their project management function. We build it, train your team, and hand it over.
Strategic program advisory
For leadership that needs an experienced operator in the room - not just a tracker, but someone who has seen these problems before.
Why MustardSeed
We understand your world
Regulatory pathways, CMC timelines, CRO relationships, FDA submissions. We don't need to be taught the context. We already know it.
Embedded, not advisory
We work inside your team, not from the outside. Accountable for delivery, not just recommendations.
CEO to CEO
Steve Curry is a founder who has led programs across life sciences, aerospace, and financial services. This is a peer conversation, not a vendor pitch.
Fixed scope. Full handover.
We build the system, train your team, and give it to you completely. No ongoing dependency unless you want it.
A 30-minute discovery call is enough to know whether MustardSeed is the right fit for where your program is right now. No pitch. No pressure. Just a direct conversation between operators about what is actually going on in your program and whether we can help. Programs typically start at $30k. If that's in range, this call is worth your time.
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