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Case Study

From spreadsheets to strategic agility: Biotheryx’s journey with Workday Adaptive Planning

An interview with David Pieters, VP Finance & Corporate Controller, Biotheryx, By Michael Mooney

Biotheryx is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing first-in-class protein degraders for cancer and inflammatory diseases. Leveraging its proprietary PRODEGY platform and deep expertise in Cereblon binding, Biotheryx is advancing a pipeline that includes BTX-9341, a bifunctional degrader of CDK4/6 in Phase 1 trials, and BTX-10908, a first-in-class SOS1 degrader for pan-KRAS mutant cancers. 

Manual models and limited visibility 

Despite its ground breaking clinical innovations, Biotheryx’s technological infrastructure lagged behind; the company relied heavily on fragile, time-consuming Excel-based models that fell short of supporting its pioneering research and development efforts . “It took us three months to build out a financial model,” says David Pieters, “and even then, it was static. Real-time updates were nearly impossible, and the risk of breaking formulas was always there.”

As a clinical-stage biotech company advancing through R&D and clinical trials, Biotheryx needed a more scalable, collaborative, and accurate planning solution. 

Partnering with Strada  

Looking for a better solution to support their financial modelling, Biotheryx partnered with Strada to deploy Workday Adaptive Planning—an enterprise-grade platform known for its robust modeling capabilities, real-time collaboration, and scalability, enabling more agile, accurate, and resilient financial planning. Strada designed a streamlined project plan that enabled the deployment of Workday Adaptive Planning in just 10 weeks, delivering a rapid and structured rollout that included key components such as:  

  • Integration with NetSuite for automated actuals 

  • Expense, capital, and headcount planning 

  • Revenue placeholders and full financial views (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow) 

  • Reporting via OfficeConnect and in-platform dashboards 

Workday Adaptive Planning gave us real-time agility, and Strada brought the expertise to scale it fast. We went from static spreadsheets to strategic planning in just 10 weeks.

David Pieters
VP Finance & Corporate Controller, Biotheryx Strada help Biotheryx's Workday journey testimonials

Speed, collaboration, and strategic insight

Time savings and accuracy 

With NetSuite integration, actuals flow directly into Workday Adaptive Planning, eliminating manual data entry and reducing errors. “We saved a ton of time and improved accuracy,” Pieters notes. 

Improved collaboration 

Workday Adaptive Planning enabled department leaders to take ownership of their budgets and forecasts. “With Excel, collaboration was risky with lack of version control and the risk of manual errors. Now, teams are more engaged, and forecasts are more accurate.”

Future readiness and scenario planning 

To ensure Biotheryx operates with agility, the company uses the platform for real-time scenario planning and board-ready reporting. “We could model different outcomes and show the board how each would impact the business.” 

Post-go-live: Continuous growth and flexibility 

Since going live, Biotheryx has significantly expanded its use of the Workday Adaptive Planning platform — transforming not just how they plan, but how they operate. 

They now manage: 

  • Dozens of planning sheets across programs 

  • Scenario planning for changing market conditions 

  • Standardized reporting for board presentations 

But the impact goes beyond functionality. 

With Strada’s continued support, Biotheryx has seen measurable improvements in productivity and strategic agility. The finance team can now: 

  • Create ad-hoc and board reports in a fraction of the time it once took in Excel 

  • Scenario plan on the fly, enabling faster, more informed decision-making 

  • Break down silos across the organization, bringing stakeholders into the planning process and improving cross-functional alignment 

  • Accelerate FP&A cycles, shifting focus from data wrangling to strategic analysis 

 “Workday Adaptive Planning has become our single source of truth,” Pieters says. “We’ve done more scenario planning since 2022 than we ever thought possible. And now that we trust our data, we can focus on the ‘A’ in FP&A—delivering real strategic insight.” 

Final thoughts 

I honestly wouldn’t use another tool,” Pieters concludes. “Workday Adaptive Planning transformed how we plan, collaborate, and make decisions—and Strada was the perfect partner to get us there.

David Pieters
VP Finance & Corporate Controller, Biotheryx Strada help Biotheryx's Workday journey testimonials

 

Tip for Life Sciences peers 

Pieters emphasizes the importance of integration and scalability: 

 “Make sure your ERP and Planning solution are connected. And build your model with growth in mind— Workday Adaptive Planning gives you the tools to scale, but only if you set it up right.” 

 

Access the Workday Adaptive Planning Life Sciences Hub 

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