Mendra, Inc. has officially entered the biopharmaceutical arena with an ambitious pitch: use artificial intelligence to fix what’s long been broken in rare disease drug development. The newly launched company announced it has closed an $82 million oversubscribed Series A round, co-led by OrbiMed, 8VC, and 5AM Ventures, with participation from Lux Capital and Wing VC.

The funding gives Mendra both validation and firepower as it sets out to modernize how rare disease therapies are identified, developed, and ultimately delivered to patients—an area of medicine where scientific promise often collides with commercial and logistical complexity.

Applying AI Where Rare Disease Development Struggles Most

Rare disease drug development faces a familiar set of challenges: small and geographically dispersed patient populations, slow clinical trial enrollment, and fragmented global commercialization pathways. Mendra’s strategy is to deploy AI across each of these bottlenecks rather than treating technology as a standalone discovery tool.

According to the company, its platform will focus on:

• Accelerating patient identification to reduce the time and cost of finding eligible trial participants

• Improving clinical trial enrollment, a frequent cause of delays in rare disease programs

• Supporting global market access, helping therapies reach patients beyond traditional U.S. and EU launch geographies

The Series A capital will also be used to acquire and develop initial rare disease assets, forming the foundation of Mendra’s therapeutic portfolio.

A Hybrid Model: Asset-Centric, Platform-Enabled

Unlike pure AI drug discovery startups, Mendra is positioning itself as a rare disease-focused biopharma company augmented by AI, not replaced by it. The emphasis is on combining deep domain expertise with software-driven decision-making across asset selection, development strategy, and commercialization planning.

“We are building Mendra to deliver high-potential rare disease medicines more effectively to patients on a global scale,” said Joshua Grass, co-founder and CEO. He noted that AI-driven capabilities could help address some of the most persistent inefficiencies in rare disease drug development, including long timelines and inconsistent execution.

Leadership Built for Scale and Specialization

Mendra’s leadership team reflects its dual focus on rare disease execution and advanced technology.

• Joshua Grass, Co-founder & CEO, brings more than two decades of biopharma leadership experience, including successful exits at Modis Therapeutics and Escient Pharmaceuticals, as well as a key role in building BioMarin’s rare disease portfolio.

• Jeff Ajer, Chief Commercial Officer, previously served as CCO at BioMarin, where he built global commercial infrastructure and launched multiple rare disease therapies worldwide.

• Lalarukh Haris Shaikh, Ph.D., Co-founder & CTO, comes from Palantir Technologies, where she led life sciences and aerospace initiatives, bridging healthcare and advanced data platforms.

• Gregory Balani, Pharm.D., VP of Business Development, adds experience from Escient Pharmaceuticals, Zogenix, Bayer, and most recently as a venture investor at Avego Bioscience Capital.

Why Investors Are Paying Attention

Investor interest in AI-enabled biopharma has surged, but rare disease remains a particularly attractive niche. While patient populations are smaller, regulatory pathways can be clearer, and successful therapies often command premium pricing and long market exclusivity.

By combining capital discipline, AI-driven infrastructure, and executives with proven rare disease track records, Mendra is betting it can shorten development cycles while expanding access to underserved patient populations worldwide.

If successful, the company could offer a blueprint for how AI-powered commercialization and clinical execution—not just discovery—may define the next phase of biopharma innovation.

Get in touch with our MarTech Experts.