Fractional commercial leadership for pharmaceutical & biotech CDMOs
Grow your CDMO’s revenue with senior commercial leadership, on a fractional basis.
We help CDMOs build a stronger funnel and a stronger business with strategy, structure, tools, and the right introductions. We’re a high-tier commercial partner delivering knowledge-based growth strategy and elite executive leadership, engaged flexibly, when and where you need it.
Pleasant Valley, New York Independent advisory for pharma and biotech
Welcome
Meet Sunstone Advisory
A one-minute introduction from Rachel Timberlake, founder and CEO.
Read the transcript
“Hi, I’m Rachel Timberlake, founder and CEO of Sunstone Advisory, and welcome to our channel. Sunstone is a family-owned advisory firm that helps pharmaceutical and biotech contract development and manufacturing organizations, or CDMOs, grow their revenue. We step in as fractional operational leaders, so you get senior commercial leadership without the cost of a full-time executive. And we’re focused on one thing: growing your top line. We build your go-to-market strategy, territory plans, and sales pipeline. We use AI to get from RFP to proposal faster. And we represent you at trade shows and industry events, so your team can stay focused on the science. Most importantly, we find the funded customers who need exactly what makes your company different. At Sunstone, we leave no molecule unturned. Let’s grow your business together.”
Who we are
When a CDMO is trying to grow, or get ready for a sale, the science is usually not the gap. The gap is commercial. Who you call. How you go to market. Which territories you work. Whether proposals go out on time and look like you. Whether a buyer can see a real pipeline.
We work with those CDMOs. We also know the other side of the table: innovators who must pick a manufacturing partner. If we ever do that work, we tell the innovator which CDMOs we already work with. They decide.
What we do
A toolkit. Two offerings now. A third later, if it fits.
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Fractional commercial advisory
We sit in as your commercial leadership, bringing veteran experience and executive-level judgment, engaged on a flexible, as-needed basis.
- Go-to-market plan
- Territory plan
- Target list
- Qualification
- Proposals
- Trade shows and events that feed the pipeline
- Weekly pipeline
- Quarterly review with the CEO
- Help build commercial value if an exit is coming
How it’s paid A monthly retainer, a set project fee, or a retainer plus a success fee on revenue you invoice from accounts we bring in or bring back.
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Sunstone OS
A private contracting workspace for your proposals. Not a public chatbot.
First, we look at how you bid today and at your templates. We mark what is missing or off market. We write new templates. We load them so your team can draft from an RFP inside a closed system. Client files stay in that tenant. They are not used to train a public model.
How it’s paid You pay a project fee to stand it up, then a monthly subscription for access. Not a vague maintenance charge.
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Coming later
CDMO selection for innovators
Shortlist, RFP, bid review, readiness for tech transfer. We disclose our CDMO relationships up front. We present options. The client chooses.
How it’s paid Fixed fee, paid by the sponsor.
Who we serve
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Now
Mid-size and specialty CDMOs that need the top line to move, including owners building value ahead of an exit.
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Coming later
Innovators with a CMC lead and a timeline who want a partner search with relationships.
Why us
Veteran experience, built into your commercial blueprint.
Leverage more than 20 years of CDMO commercial experience to build your commercial blueprint. Our knowledge-backed strategy and executive-level leadership are tailored precisely to your specific needs and growth phase.
Let’s talk-
Judgment, not hours
The value is the judgment and the result, not the hours on a file.
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The people who took the first call
You work with the people who took the first call.
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We do the operating work
A named list, a territory, events chosen on purpose, a six-month check on whether the funnel is real. If it is only meetings, we stop.
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Relationships disclosed
Relationships are disclosed. You see who else is in the picture.
About
Rachel Timberlake
Founder & CEO, Sunstone Advisory
Rachel is a sales leader with more than 20 years of experience driving top-line growth for leading pharma and biotech contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs). She combines strategic vision with Six Sigma expertise and operational excellence to forge partnerships, negotiate complex contracts, and lead cross-functional teams to deliver innovative solutions.
Before founding Sunstone, Rachel led business development at several CDMOs, including private-equity-backed organizations. Her career is defined by securing multimillion-dollar contracts, accelerating client pipelines, and fostering transformative collaborations. She holds an MBA from Marist University and is a passionate advocate for advancing healthcare through science-driven solutions.
“At Sunstone, we leave no molecule unturned. Let’s grow your business together.”
Rachel Timberlake
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Specialties
Long-cycle B2B sales across small and large molecule modalities, where 12 to 18 months to close is typical.
- Assessing and valuing complex pipelines, from pre-clinical through commercial
- Building accurate revenue forecasts and growth models
- Implementing scalable, proven sales strategies that drive sustainable, long-term results
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Dosage form expertise
- Oral solid dose, including immediate- and modified-release forms
- Liquids and semi-solids
- Aseptic orally inhaled nebulized solutions and topical ophthalmics
- Dry powder for inhalation
- Parenteral delivery in liquid or lyophilized vials, prefilled syringes, and cartridges
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Technologies & manufacturing
- Bioavailability enhancement and spray-dried dispersions
- Particle engineering for inhaled therapeutics and poorly soluble compounds, using spray drying and micronization
- Biotherapeutic stabilization and drug delivery innovations
- Clinical and commercial manufacturing, including DEA Schedule I–V, high-potency, and solvent processing
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Career highlights
- Two-time President’s Club winner
- Delivered 110% of quota in 2025, with 35% year-over-year team growth and 15 new molecules signed
- Built and onboarded a five-person sales team
- Six Sigma Black Belt; certified in Miller Heiman Strategic Selling and Scotwork Negotiation
- MBA, Marist University
For PE-backed CDMOs and investors
Faster deals, clearer pipelines, stronger exits.
Rachel’s expertise helps private-equity-backed CDMOs accelerate deal velocity, improve pipeline visibility, and maximize exit multiples in a competitive market. If you’re involved in CDMO investments or portfolio optimization, or know someone who is, she’d love to connect and explore how she can add value on a flexible, fractional basis.
Testimonials
What colleagues and clients say
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Rachel knows pharma CDMO sales. Years in the space have given her fluency across dosage forms, CMC development, and tools like Salesforce. Her clients trust her because she tells them the truth.
Richard Sidwell Strategic Advisor; former Senior Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer
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Much of the credit for our growth in the past year goes to her… What sets Rachel apart is her ability to understand client’s needs and find creative solutions (timing, cost) to aid clients in their drug development process.
Carolyn Berg Formerly Vice President, Business Development Catalent
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Rachel is one of the best ‘hunters’ I know. She is a consummate professional that always helps the customer find the right solution, even if it isn’t one that directly benefits her. This is why people trust her.
Formerly Vice President, Global Partners Catalent
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Rachel is the best I have seen with regards to Customer Service, Technical Input and meeting our needs.
Connect and Develop Manager Procter & Gamble Personal Health Care
How we start
A 45-minute call.
Partner relationships on the table. Then one of:
- An 18–24 month commercial engagement, built for long sales cycles
- An OS setup plus subscription
- A selection project
Email rachel.timberlake@sunstoneadvisorygroup.com · Call +1 845.392.1909
Leave no molecule unturned.