Drug discovery platform Peptris raises Rs 70 Cr in Series A round

Drug discovery company Peptris has raised Rs 70 crore ($7.7 million) in a Series A funding round co-led by IAN Alpha Fund and Speciale Invest along with participation from Tenacity Ventures, BYT Ventures, and other investors. 

The fresh capital will be used to advance its existing programs toward clinical readiness and to expand its pipeline over the next 24 months, and enhance teams across biology, chemistry, data science, and AI, Peptris said in a press release.

Co-founded in 2019 by Narayanan Venkatasubramanian , Shridhar Narayanan, Anand Budni, and Amit Mahajan, Peptris has created AI models to generate novel molecules and predict varied parameters that are critical to reduce failures in drug development. The approach has led to the discovery of Novel Chemical Entities (NCE), drug repurposing and rescue opportunities. 

According to the Bengaluru-based company, it addresses persistent problems in healthcare despite scientific advances, drug discovery remains slow, expensive, and failure-prone, leaving large unmet medical needs. This challenge is most acute in the pre-clinical stage, where time, capital, and scientific uncertainty often derail promising programs much before drugs reach the clinical stage.

Peptris says that its platform not only generates novel molecules but also helps predict critical drug development parameters early. This enables faster and better-informed decision-making and has already resulted in the discovery of Novel Chemical Entities (NCEs) as well as drug repurposing and rescue opportunities, with multiple programs now advancing towards clinical development.

The company plans to initiate several new NCE programs, alongside multiple drug repurposing and rescue programs (shelved clinical stage drugs of other companies). It follows a B2B engagement model, working closely with pharma, biotech, and select FMCG partners to license assets and co-develop programs. The startup focuses on therapeutic areas including rare diseases, inflammation, oncology, and women’s health to deliver a durable impact for patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems globally.