NEW YORK, March 31, 2026, 09:24 EDT
Blackstone has closed a $6.3 billion life sciences fund, its biggest vehicle yet for backing drug and medical-technology programs and what it called the largest private fund dedicated to life sciences. The vehicle, Blackstone Life Sciences VI, will support innovation across pharma and medtech, the company said. 1
The timing matters. Biogen agreed on Tuesday to buy Apellis Pharmaceuticals for $5.6 billion and Eli Lilly struck a deal worth up to $7.8 billion for Centessa, showing big drugmakers are still paying up for pipeline assets as patent losses draw closer. That opens a wider lane for specialist capital pools that fund the last, expensive stretch of development before launch. 2
BXLS VI is nearly 40% larger than Blackstone’s previous life sciences fund, which Bloomberg Law said closed in 2020 with $4.6 billion. The new vehicle drew more investor demand than Blackstone planned to take and closed at its maximum size. Sector outlet BioPharma Dive also described it as the biggest private life sciences fund yet. 3
Blackstone Life Sciences, led by Nicholas Galakatos, focuses on late-stage products — the big trials and launch work that come just before regulators decide on a drug or device. The unit says it had $15 billion under management at the end of 2025 and was built to fund products, not just take equity stakes. 3
Galakatos said the close reflected investors’ “enduring conviction in the life sciences.” Blackstone said partnerships across the platform have produced 34 regulatory approvals for medicines and devices. 1
Recent transactions show how the strategy works. Merck said in November that Blackstone would provide $700 million to help develop sacituzumab tirumotecan, while Teva said this month Blackstone would put up $400 million over four years for duvakitug, a treatment in late-stage studies for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Teva executive Evan Lippman said the structure lets the company advance its pipeline while “maintaining financial strength.” 4
There are rivals, too. Royalty Pharma, another specialist in non-dilutive life-sciences funding — capital that lets companies raise money without issuing new shares — announced a $250 million royalty-backed financing for Zymeworks this month and last year bought a royalty interest in Alnylam’s Amvuttra from Blackstone. 5
The Blackstone raise also landed amid mixed early moves across financial stocks on Tuesday. Blackstone shares were up 3.3% before the opening bell, Bank of America added 0.6%, and Burford Capital fell 2.7% after saying it expected a substantial write-down on its YPF asset following a U.S. appeals court win for Argentina. Bank of America last week agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle a lawsuit by women who accused the bank of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse. 6
But one record fund close does not mean the rough patch in private markets is over. Blackstone’s flagship BCRED private credit fund posted its first monthly loss in more than three years in February after a surge in withdrawal requests earlier in the quarter, a reminder that valuation and liquidity worries can still hit even the industry’s biggest names. 7
Even so, fresh cash for BXLS gives Blackstone more room to chase the big late-stage mandates that drugmakers increasingly value as they hunt for new growth. With Biogen and Lilly back in the deal market this week, that lane looks busy. 8
