# Fred Craves

> Fred Craves is a Series A investor at Bay City Capital backing Biotechnology and Health Care. See 5 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Bay City Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bay-city-capital)
- Location: San Francisco Bay Area, United States
- Total investments: 5
- Last investment: Jan 2018
- Lead investor: 20%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-craves-52552a30/

Fred Craves is a Series A investor at Bay City Capital in San Francisco Bay Area focused on Biotechnology and Health Care. Fred Craves, PhD, is an Investment Partner, Managing Director and Founder of Bay City Capital, and serves as a member of the board of directors and Chairman of the executive committee. Before founding Bay City Capital, he spent over 20 years leading and managing biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Previously, he was Executive Vice Presidentof Schering Berlin and Chief Executive Officer and President of Berlex Biosciences, a research, development, and manufacturing organization. He founded Burrill & Craves, a merchant bank focused on biotechnology and emerging pharmaceutical companies. He was also the founding Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Codon, and co-founder of Creative Biomolecules. Dr. Craves is a member of the boards of directors of Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Dermira, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals and Reset Therapeutics. He also serves as a member of The J. David Gladstone Institutes' Advisory Council and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Dr. Craves earned a BS in Biology from Georgetown University and a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of California, San Francisco.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Biotechnology | 3 | 60% |
| Health Care | 2 | 40% |
| Pharmaceutical | 2 | 40% |
| Medical | 1 | 20% |
| Biopharma | 1 | 20% |

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 2 | 40% |
| Series C | 2 | 40% |
| Series B | 1 | 20% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| KBP Biosciences | KBP is a world-class biotechnology research & development organization dedicated to providing innovative therapies for unmet medical needs. | $76M | Series A | Jan 05, 2018 |  |
| Dermira | Dermira is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative and differentiated products to dermatologists and their patients. Dermira’s portfolio of five product candidates targets significant market opportunities. It was founded in 2010 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California. | $51M | Series C | Aug 19, 2014 |  |
| Dermira | Dermira is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative and differentiated products to dermatologists and their patients. Dermira’s portfolio of five product candidates targets significant market opportunities. It was founded in 2010 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California. | $35M | Series B | Jun 11, 2013 |  |
| Dermira | Dermira is a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing innovative and differentiated products to dermatologists and their patients. Dermira’s portfolio of five product candidates targets significant market opportunities. It was founded in 2010 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California. | $42M | Series A | Oct 20, 2011 |  |
| Ion Torrent | Ion Torrent, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Instead, Ion Torrent marries simplechemistry to incredibly powerful, proven semiconductor technology—it's Watson meets Moore. The result is a sequencing system that is simpler, faster, more cost effective and scalable than any other technology available. The company's goal is to democratize sequencing and make this critical technology available to every lab. | $37.1M | Series C | Mar 05, 2010 |  |

5 of 5 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Canaan Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/canaan-partners) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [New Enterprise Associates](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/new-enterprise-associates) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Advantech Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/advantech-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Aisling Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/aisling-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Apple Tree Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/apple-tree-partners) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [CASH Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/cash-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Bay City Capital

VC Fund · San Francisco, United States

Bay City Capital LLC (Bay City Capital) was established in 1997 for the purpose of managing investment funds in the life sciences industry. Since that date, they have managed six venture funds representing $1.5 billion in capital invested in over 70 companies. Five of these funds are general life sciences funds, and one is a nutrition andagribusiness sector fund.

5 contacts available at Bay City Capital.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| David Beier | Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/david-beier |
| Fred Gage | Scientific Advisory Board | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fred-gage |
| Fred Craves | Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fred-craves |
| Judy Koh | Managing Director/Chief Financial Officer | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/judy-koh |
| Lionel Carnot | Managing Director | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lionel-carnot |

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [General Catalyst](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/general-catalyst-partners) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Fred Craves invest in?

Fred Craves invests primarily in Biotechnology, Health Care and Pharmaceutical startups, most often at Series A and Series C stage. Most of the 5 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Fred Craves last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Fred Craves closed in Jan 2018. Shizune tracks 5 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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