Independent finance and corporate development advisory for life science companies
Mount Morris Advisors LLC is an independent advisory practice. I work with early-stage private life science companies on capital strategy, fundraising, and finance execution. With over two decades of experience helping founders, management and investors, I bring senior-level judgment, hands-on support, and over two decades of experience helping biotech teams navigate complex financing, fundraising and corporate development decisions.
How I Work
Mount Morris Advisors LLC is an independent advisory practice.
Clients work directly with me—there is no junior team, no hand-offs, and no black box. I operate as an extension of the management team, combining analytical rigor with a sleeves-rolled-up approach.
All work is delivered through a lean advisory model with deliberate use of modern tools to work efficiently and focus time where it matters most: judgment, strategy, and execution. The result is senior-level engagement, thoughtful analysis, and pragmatic advice—without unnecessary overhead.
What I Do
Mount Morris Advisors provides focused, independent advice to life science companies at critical stages of development. This means helping management teams and boards think clearly about capital needs, funding strategy, valuation, and long-term outcomes—and then assisting with implementation.
Work typically spans:
-
Fundraising strategy and execution
-
CFO-level finance and board support
-
Valuation analysis and exit planning
Fundraising Advisory
Advising companies through all phases of private capital raising, from early institutional rounds through later-stage financings.
Work typically includes:
Investor strategy and targeting
I maintain current insight into life science investors, including their fund cycles, board participation, and stated investment focus. For each client, I analyze comparable financings—by stage, indication, product profile, and mechanism of action—to help define a realistic and targeted investor universe.
Positioning and materials
Working collaboratively with clients, we prepare clear, credible fundraising materials, including investor presentations, private placement memoranda, and supporting analyses. This includes developing the financial, timeline, market, and valuation narrative needed for productive investor discussions.
Financial modeling and capital planning
The long-term financial models clearly articulate capital needs through key value-inflection points, helping investors understand both the proposed financing size and the strategic rationale behind it.
Execution and negotiation
I coordinate investor outreach and roadshows, attend meetings, manage diligence requests, and assist in evaluating and negotiating competing term sheets, with careful attention to outcomes for all stakeholders.
Fractional CFO
Many private life science companies operate with intentionally lean finance organizations. I provide CFO-level support combined with a hands-on approach, helping companies establish clear, credible financial infrastructure.
Services include:
• Financial modeling and forecasting
• Budgeting and cash-flow planning
• Board and investor reporting
• Audit preparedness
• Cap table management
• Term sheet and financing structure analysis
• IPO readiness support
Valuation & Exit Strategy
All investors ultimately seek liquidity. I work with management teams to assess potential acquirers or partners, understand what those counterparties value, and identify the milestones required to support M&A or public-market exits.
Valuation is context-dependent and evolves with a company’s stage, data, and strategic options. I help clients and their stakeholders understand current and future value using appropriate valuation frameworks.
Representative Clients
A selection of current and former clients includes early-stage and private life science companies across a range of therapeutic areas and development stages.
Drais Pharmaceuticals
Imago BioSciences
Topaz Pharmaceuticals
Celtaxsys Therapeutics
Akebia Therapeutics
LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals
Aerie Pharmaceuticals
Ferrokin Biosciences
Catalyst Biosciences
DiaDexus
Aerpio Pharmaceuticals
Immunomet Therapeutics
Relmada Therapeutics
(List includes current and former clients.)
About Michael Bell
I am the founder of Mount Morris Advisors, a former investment banker and corporate finance executive with over 25 years of experience.
For more than two decades, I have worked with life science companies, supporting finance operations, raising private capital, and executing corporate development strategies. My career started with Deloitte & Touche in the UK (qualified as a Chartered Accountant), and later worked with PwC in the US (qualifying as a CPA). I hold an MBA from Columbia University, an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics, and an undergraduate degree from Brown University.
