Frazier Healthcare Partners Closes Second Venture Pool with $419M
Frazier Healthcare Partners closed Frazier Life Sciences IX at $419 million.
The company, which saw $419 million in total capital commitments, will look to build on its historic work that has typically focused on drugs making the transition from preclinical through clinical proof-of-concept.
The so-called Frazier Life Sciences IX marks its second dedicated Life Sciences fund; back in 2015, it unveiled its first pure play in this sector, with a $262 million raise.
The fund will invest in 14-17 therapeutics companies, with two-thirds allocated to seed and series A rounds.
The company said it is predominately focused on early-stage biomedical R&D, despite the inherent risks, because “We believe that venture-backed companies play an integral role in the biopharma ecosystem, which is evidenced by the fact that around 75% of drugs approved each year come from small/midsized biotechs at some point during the drug’s development (discovery, development, or in some cases, approval). Collaboration, and advancing the best ideas as quickly as possible, is now part of the DNA of our industry, and it is fantastic to see amazing innovation and investment across the spectrum of early science through late-stage trials.”
“We are excited to continue to execute the investment strategy that has been successful across numerous funds, including our focus on our robust company creation efforts,
” said Patrick Heron, Managing General Partner at Frazier. Portfolio companies such as Calistoga Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Gilead Sciences) and Incline Therapeutics (acquired by The Medicines Company) have emerged from the team’s company creation practice.“We are grateful to our limited partners who enabled us to receive commitments for an oversubscribed fund in three months,” said Jamie Topper, Managing General Partner at Frazier. “We are pleased to have the support of most of the investors in our most recent fund, Frazier Life Sciences VIII, as well as welcome a number of new, high-quality investors.”