Mahendra Shah

Mahendra Shah is a Senior Fellow and Advisor at Vivo Capital and the Founder and Executive Chairman of Semnur Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he served as a Managing Director at Vivo Capital for over 15 years and was the Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of NextWave Pharmaceuticals from 2005 to 2009 before its acquisition by Pfizer. Prior to that, Dr. Shah spent a decade as Chairman and CEO of First Horizon Pharmaceuticals between 1993 and 2003, culminating in the company's sale to Shionogi Pharmaceuticals. He currently holds several board positions across the healthcare sector, including directorships at Scientia Vascular, Soleno Therapeutics, and HCMed Innovations, and serves on the Board of Trustees at St. John's University. His three-decade career focuses on founding, scaling, and investing in early-stage specialty pharmaceutical, pediatric therapeutics, biotechnology, and medical device companies.