MENLO PARK, Calif. & SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Frazier Healthcare, a leading provider of growth capital to healthcare companies, announces that Tadataka Yamada, Ph.D. has re-joined the firm. He will serve as a Venture Partner on the Life Sciences team, focusing on creating companies as well as providing strategic guidance to existing portfolio companies. He will also serve as a Senior Advisor to the Growth Buyout team, where he will provide advice on opportunities in pharmaceutical services and spin-outs from large healthcare companies, and sit on boards of portfolio companies such as PCI, a large pharmaceutical services company in the Frazier portfolio.
“Tachi’s experiences and insight into the rapidly-changing healthcare world will be invaluable to our theme-based investing strategy,” stated Chairman Alan Frazier. Managing General Partner Jamie Topper added, "I am thrilled that Tachi is re-joining our Life Sciences team at Frazier. His extensive experience in all aspects of drug development will once again be a tremendous addition to our investing team.”
Before re-joining Frazier, Dr. Yamada was Chief Medical and Scientific Officer at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Tokyo, as well as a member of the Board of Directors. In this role, Dr. Yamada was responsible for all of Takeda’s research & development activities, with a budget of nearly $4 billion.
Prior to Takeda, Dr. Yamada was President of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Program in Seattle, where he oversaw over $9 billion in grants for applying technologies to address major health challenges of the developing world. Before joining the Gates Foundation, Dr. Yamada was Chairman of Research and Development at GlaxoSmithKline and a member of the board of directors. Earlier, Dr. Yamada was the Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and the Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
In addition to his role at Frazier, Dr. Yamada serves as a member of the board of directors at the Clinton Health Access Initiative and of the Council of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a Fellow of the Imperial College of Medicine, a Master of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and a past-President of the American Gastroenterological Association and the Association of American Physicians.
Dr. Yamada received his M.D. from New York University School of Medicine and a B.A. in History from Stanford University. He has authored over 150 manuscripts in peer reviewed journals and is the editor of The Textbook of Gastroenterology. In recognition of his contributions to medicine and science, he has been elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (US), the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK), and the National Academy of Medicine (Mexico). He has received an honorary appointment as Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) and been conferred the degree of D.Sci. honoris causa from five universities. He has also been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Distinguished Achievement Award in Gastrointestinal Physiology from the American Physiological Society, the Friedenwald Medal from the American Gastroenterological Association, and the Watanabe Prize in Translational Research from Indiana University and Eli Lilly & Co.
About Frazier Healthcare
Founded in 1991, Frazier Healthcare is a leading provider of growth capital to healthcare companies. The firm has more than $2B under management and has made investments in over 170 healthcare companies, with investment types ranging from company creation and venture capital to growth buyouts and leveraged recapitalizations.
Frazier’s experienced team takes an active approach to helping build portfolio companies, leveraging the team’s deep domain expertise and expansive network of healthcare executives, advisors, and industry thought leaders. The firm’s Growth Buyout team invests in profitable companies focusing on healthcare services, pharmaceutical services, medical products, and related sectors. The firm’s Life Sciences team invests in therapeutics and related areas that are addressing unmet medical needs through innovation.
For more information about Frazier Healthcare, visit the company's website at www.frazierhealthcare.com.
