PALO ALTO, Calif. — Frazier Life Sciences has appointed veteran biopharma executive Christian Schade as a senior advisor, strengthening its efforts to support portfolio companies on corporate strategy and business development.
Schade will be based in the firm’s Boston office and work closely with leadership teams across its investment portfolio.
“Chris brings deep operational and financial experience with both private and public biopharma companies,” said Joe Cabral, Partner at Frazier Life Sciences. “His leadership experience and ability to guide companies through critical inflection points make him a strong addition to our advisory team. We’re pleased to welcome him as we continue building out our Boston team.”
Schade brings more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. Most recently, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Halda Therapeutics, where he led the company through its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in December 2025.
“The Frazier Life Sciences team has a strong history of supporting companies at pivotal moments in their evolution, and I look forward to working with founders and leaders as they work to translate scientific discoveries into potentially groundbreaking therapies for the benefit of patients in need,” Schade said.
Before Halda, Schade was President, Chief Executive Officer, and a board member at Aprea Therapeutics from 2016 to 2022, later serving as chairman through 2023. During his tenure, the company advanced its oncology pipeline and completed its initial public offering in 2019.
He has also held executive roles across several biotechnology companies, including serving as Chief Executive Officer of Novira prior to its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson, Chief Financial Officer of Omthera Pharmaceuticals until its acquisition by AstraZeneca, and Senior Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Medarex until its acquisition by Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Earlier in his career, Schade was Managing Director at Merrill Lynch in London, following nearly two decades in corporate finance and capital markets roles at Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan in New York and London.
Schade holds an A.B. from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
