The pharmaceutical sector is being shaped by startups tackling a wide range of health challenges. Many of these new companies are using artificial intelligence and biotechnology to discover new medicines.
Among the top funded companies is Shields Health Solutions, which raised $3.5 billion to help hospitals with pharmacy programs. Others like Insilico Medicine are using AI for drug development, having secured over $624 million in funding.
Below is our list of 100 Pharmaceutical startups worth keeping an eye on.
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Get the Sheet for $50Enveda Biosciences builds a drug discovery platform to find novel medicines in the natural world. The company uses machine learning to map the chemistry of plants and identify promising new therapeutics.
| Headquarters | Boulder, Colorado, United States |
| Year Founded | 2019 |
| Founders | Viswa Colluru |
| Funding Amount | $529.9M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series D |
| Top Investors | Village Global, Lux Capital, Catalio Capital Management, Sanofi, FPV Ventures |
Insilico Medicine operates an AI-driven platform for end-to-end drug discovery, from identifying novel targets to designing new molecules. They are using this system to develop a pipeline of potential therapies for cancer and age-related diseases.
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Alex Zhavoronkov |
| Funding Amount | $624.3M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series E |
| Top Investors | OrbiMed, HSG, B Capital, Eli Lilly, Qiming Venture Partners |
Medable provides a software platform for decentralized clinical trials, making it easier for patients to participate in research from anywhere. Their technology streamlines data collection and trial management to help accelerate the delivery of new medical treatments.
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Fernando Waigandt, James Sas, Michelle Longmire, Perry Robinson, Tim Smith |
| Funding Amount | $506.6M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series D |
| Top Investors | Sapphire Ventures, GSR Ventures, Obvious Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, HealthX Ventures |
Shields Health Solutions partners with health systems to create and manage their own specialty pharmacy programs. This integrated approach helps improve patient outcomes and generates new revenue for the hospitals.
| Headquarters | Stoughton, Massachusetts, United States |
| Year Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | jack shields |
| Funding Amount | $3.5B |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Corporate Round |
| Top Investors | Evernorth |
NRG Therapeutics develops therapeutic approaches designed to restore mitochondrial function. Their work focuses on creating disease-modifying medicines for neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease and ALS.
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Neil Miller |
| Funding Amount | $97M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | British Business Bank, Brandon Capital, Omega Funds, Dementia Discovery Fund, Michael J. Fox Foundation |
Revalia Bio is launching a new category of pre-clinical research through its "Human Data Trials" platform. They generate AI-driven insights from functional human organs to provide more accurate data for accelerating drug discovery.
| Headquarters | New Haven, Connecticut, United States |
| Year Founded | 2023 |
| Founders | Greg Tietjen, Helen Hughes, Jenna DiRito, Kourosh Saeb-Parsy, Milad Alucozai, Peter Buniak |
| Funding Amount | $19.5M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Seed |
| Top Investors | Sierra Ventures, America’s Frontier Fund, Connecticut Innovations, Milad Alucozai, Overmatch Ventures |
Massive Bio operates an AI-powered platform that connects cancer patients to clinical trials. Their technology helps patients access cutting-edge treatments and provides pharmaceutical companies with a streamlined way to recruit for oncology studies.
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Arturo Loaiza-Bonilla, Cagatay Culcuoglu, Selin Kurnaz |
| Funding Amount | $23.8M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | 500 Global, Revo Capital, 500 Emerging Europe, Princeton Alumni Angels, ImpactAssets |
Psilera develops novel therapies for a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. The biotechnology company focuses on synthesizing new compounds to create safer and more effective treatments for mental health conditions.
| Headquarters | Tampa, Florida, United States |
| Year Founded | 2019 |
| Founders | Christopher Witowski, Jacqueline von Salm |
| Funding Amount | $7.6M |
| Startup Size | Founding Team (1-10) |
| Last Funding Status | Grant |
| Top Investors | National Institutes of Health, Florida High Tech Corridor, What If Ventures, Mystic Ventures, JLS Fund |
Sparrow Pharmaceuticals develops novel treatments for disorders stemming from an excess of corticosteroids. Their clinical-stage team is advancing a lead product, clofutriben, to address conditions like Cushing's syndrome and polymyalgia rheumatica.
| Headquarters | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | David Katz |
| Funding Amount | $156.3M |
| Startup Size | Founding Team (1-10) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | OrbiMed, RA Capital Management, U.S. Venture Partners, RiverVest, Forbion Capital Partners |
AltrixBio develops an oral drug that replicates the metabolic success of bariatric surgery for treating obesity. Their non-systemic, gut-targeted therapy provides the benefits of gastric bypass in a pill without being absorbed into the bloodstream.
| Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States |
| Year Founded | 2019 |
| Founders | Ali Tavakkoli, Nancy Briefs |
| Funding Amount | $6.2M |
| Startup Size | Founding Team (1-10) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | Flybridge, Taihill Venture, XFactor Ventures, Arizona Tech Investors, Walnut Venture Associates |
90 Additional Pharmaceutical Startups Worth Following
Those top 10 companies are just a glimpse of the broader picture. Many more founders are tackling big health problems, raising billions of dollars for their work in biotech and AI.
Some of these companies are just getting started, while others are already growing quickly. Here’s a look at the rest of the startups shaping the pharmaceutical landscape.
