Frazier Life Sciences has sourced a further $630 million for its fund focused on small and mid-cap biotechs.
The latest haul of capital commitments from both new and existing investors brings the total raised by the Californian investment firm’s public fund to around $1.7 billion since the fund was set up three years ago. While the fund is designed to “navigate volatility and liquidity in small- and mid-cap public biotech companies,” according the FLS, it also has the “flexibility to invest in later-stage private companies via crossover financings.”
The Palo Alto-headquartered firm name-checked Sierra Oncology, Chinook Therapeutics and Alpine Immune Sciences—acquired by GSK, Novartis and Vertex, respectively—as some of the “evergreen” fund’s largest investments.
“Since 2010, FLS companies have received FDA approval for over 50 new therapeutics,” Jamie Brush, general partner and portfolio manager at FLS, said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to invest in management teams that we believe drive innovation and deliver transformational treatments to patients in need.”
“We’re pleased by the strong growth and meaningful milestones we’ve seen from many companies in our portfolio within the fund’s first three years,” Albert Cha, managing partner at FLS, said in the same release. “We are grateful to have the support of our limited partners, who appreciate the positive impact the therapeutics we invest in can have on patients.”
The public fund was unveiled in 2021 when FLS announced it had raised $830 million. At the time, Brush described the small and mid-cap-focused fund as “a natural evolution” that would allow the firm “to deploy more capital in that space, which we find highly attractive.”
FLS manages more than $3.9 billion in capital spread across the public fund and various venture funds. The firm’s most recent venture fund, dubbed Frazier Life Sciences XI, reached $987 million when it was raised in 2022.
It’s been a hot few weeks in biotech investment, with Bain Capital Life Sciences and Arch Venture Partners both announcing biotech and healthcare-focused VC funds of around $3 billion.