Develop Health

AI benefit verification and prior auth for prescriptions

Our take

Develop Health builds AI for prescription drug access: real-time benefit verification, coverage and cost prediction at the point of prescribing, and automated generation and submission of medication prior authorization packages, including appeals when requests are denied. Founded in 2022 by Mel van Londen and Ben Easton, who previously worked at Canvas Medical and Rupa Health, the company sells primarily to telehealth and virtual care prescribers, where medication coverage friction (GLP-1s especially) directly gates revenue. The platform runs on more than a dozen purpose-built language models and writes structured coverage data back into the prescriber's system.

The company raised a $14.3 million Series A led by Wing Venture Capital in August 2025, with Afore Capital, South Park Commons, and J Ventures participating, bringing total funding to $17.6 million. Named customers include Ro, LifeMD, Calibrate, and Sunrise, and the company says it supports hundreds of thousands of patients per month while cutting medication-access administrative work by over 80%. Its stated roadmap is to push beyond the pharmacy benefit into medical benefit coverage and to broaden EHR and PBM integrations, which would move it from a telehealth wedge toward the larger provider market where established players like CoverMyMeds dominate.

What it does

Real-time benefit verification with plan-specific cost and coverage
Predicts coverage and PA requirements at point of prescription
Generates and submits prescription prior authorization packages
Drafts appeals and manages denials automatically
Returns structured coverage data into the prescriber's EHR

Where it's strong

Purpose-built for prescription drug access (benefit checks plus medication PA), a narrower and deeper wedge than general prior auth vendors.
Named traction with high-volume telehealth prescribers like Ro and LifeMD, where GLP-1 coverage friction makes the ROI easy to measure.
Founders came from Canvas Medical and Rupa Health, so the product is built around real prescriber workflow integration rather than a standalone portal.

What buyers should weigh

Total funding of $17.6 million and a 2022 founding date make this an early-stage vendor bet; assess team depth and support model before committing core volume.
Public proof points are concentrated in telehealth and virtual care companies, so traditional health systems and pharmacies will find fewer reference customers.
Scope is medications only; if you also need procedure, imaging, or DME prior auth, you will still need another vendor.

Latest

Raised a $14.3 million Series A led by Wing Venture Capital in August 2025, bringing total funding to $17.6 million, with plans to expand from pharmacy benefit into medical benefit workflows and add EHR and PBM integrations.