BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Tachi Yamada, R&D leader and global health advocate, passes away at 76

Yamada revamped R&D at GSK, Takeda, built companies at Frazier

August 5, 2021 3:15 PM UTC

After decades leading pharma R&D teams, guiding global health initiatives and building companies, Tadataka “Tachi” Yamada passed away unexpectedly Tuesday. He was 76.

Yamada served at the highest levels of leadership among global pharmaceutical companies and global health non-profits, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Clinton Health Access Initiative Inc. (CHAI), GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502; NYSE:TAK). He also was a venture partner at San Francisco Bay Area VC Frazier Healthcare Partners, a firm he returned to in 2015 after an early advisory role he began in 2006...