Frazier Healthcare Partners announced the closing of Frazier Life Sciences IX, L.P., exceeding its target and closing on nearly $419 million in capital commitments in an oversubscribed fundraise. Investing in life sciences has been a core strategy since the firm’s inception 26 years ago, and Frazier Life Sciences IX marks the second dedicated Life Sciences fund, bringing the firm’s total committed capital raised since inception to nearly $3.4 billion.
Led by Managing General Partners Patrick Heron and Jamie Topper since 2005, the Frazier Life Sciences team invests primarily in therapeutics-focused companies developing and commercializing innovative biopharmaceuticals that address important unmet medical needs. Frazier Life Sciences IX will target two-thirds of its investments in Seed and Series A rounds, with many of these investments expected to come from the team’s continued company creation efforts.
“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.”
Recent Frazier Life Sciences IPOs and exits include Acerta Pharma (acquired by AstraZeneca), Tobira Therapeutics (acquired by Allergan), AnaptysBio (IPO: ANAB), and PreCision Dermatology (acquired by Valeant). In addition, 20 approved therapeutics have originated from Frazier Life Sciences-backed companies since 2010, including treatments for hematologic cancers (Zydelig, Xatmep), drug-resistant bacterial infections (Zerbaxa, Vabomere), and pain (Xtampza).
The investment partners for Frazier Life Sciences IX are Patrick Heron, M.B.A., Jamie Topper, M.D., Ph.D., and Dan Estes, Ph.D.