Free research tool
Estimate a biotech company’s cash runway.
Use cash and quarterly operating burn from the latest 10-Q or 10-K to estimate months until cash exhaustion.
- Inputs
- Cash · quarterly burn
- Output
- Runway in months
- Method
- Cash ÷ monthly burn
From the latest 10-Q/10-K balance sheet
Net cash used in operating activities (quarterly)
Expected revenue growth that reduces net burn (0% for pre-revenue)
What is Cash Runway?
Cash runway measures how many months a company can continue operations before exhausting its cash reserves. For pre-revenue biotech companies, this is one of the most critical metrics investors track, as it directly impacts dilution risk and financing timing.
The basic formula is: Runway (months) = Cash / Monthly Burn Rate. We use quarterly burn rate from SEC filings and divide by 3 for the monthly figure.
Key Thresholds
- > 24 months: Comfortable. Company can focus on R&D without near-term financing pressure.
- 12-24 months: Watch closely. Management likely planning financing.
- < 12 months: High risk. Expect dilutive offering, partnership, or going-concern warning.
From one calculation to a market rule
Screen the market with your runway threshold
Turn the months you consider safe, watchable, or blocked into a reusable rule backed by the available SEC cash and burn figures.