Scout Bio, Penn gene therapy firm, gets $9.29M from Frazier

Frazier Healthcare Partners, a Seattle- and Silicon Valley-based venture capital group, has led a $9.29 million investment in Scout Bio, a gene therapy company developed at the University of Pennsylvania, according to this Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

After the Frazier-led share purchase, Scout Bio directors include Penn medical school vice dean Kevin Mahoney, who succeeds pioneering Penn gene therapy developer Dr. James Wilson, who co-registered the company in Massachusetts in 2016; Krishna Polu, a veteran biotech company executive and former  employees of Frazier Healthcare Partners: and Scout's chief executive, Krishna Polu M.D., a Frazier "entrepreneur in residence" who as past chief medical officer at CytomX arranged cancer treatment development partnerships with Pfizer and other large companies.

Directors also include Frazier managing director Patrick Heron, who arranged previous biotech start-up sales to Roche, Valeant and other big pharma purchasers; Frazier venture partner Tadataka Yamada, who was a cofounding director of Scou Bio and a past chief medical officer at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Tokyo; and Frazier vice president Remy Durand, formerly of GE Ventures.

Penn is raising funds for a series of gene therapy and biotech ventures. In January investors led by Ping An Ventures, Gilead Biosciences and the Parker Institute pledged $100 million for Tmunity, a T-cell -based cancer-fighting company set up by Dr. Carl June and colleagues. But after years of hype, the university is keeping a low profile for some of its efforts, which have the potential to enrich professors and programs. Scout Bio hasn't posted a public statement or set up a Web site.