Fred Craves, Ph.D.

Fred serves as an Advisor to Illumina Ventures. He is the Founder and Managing Director of Bay City Capital. Since launching the firm in 1997, he has built Bay City Capital to become one of the world’s premier life science investment firms investing in nearly 100 companies and raising more than $1.6 billion.

Fred is not only a leader in healthcare venture capital, but also brings scientific skills and deep operational expertise. He has been associated with some of the most significant exits in the biopharmaceutical industry including Reliant Pharmaceuticals, a company he founded then sold to GlaxoSmithKline in 2007 in the single largest all-cash transaction for a venture backed biotech company at that time. He has served as Executive Vice President of Schering Berlin, Chief Executive Officer and President of Berlex Biosciences, Founding Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Codon, and co-founder of Creative Biomolecules.

Fred has been named to the Forbes Midas List, which recognizes the most successful investors in the venture capital asset class across both the technology and healthcare industries. He currently serves on the Boards of Dermira, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Reset Therapeutics and Twist Bioscience. Previous investments and board participation, in addition to Reliant, include Medarex, Incyte Pharmaceuticals, and Ion Torrent.

Fred earned a B.S. in Biology from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of California, San Francisco.