Blackstone (NYSE:BX) has raised US$6.3 billion for its latest life sciences fund, the largest private vehicle dedicated to the sector.
The fund, Blackstone Life Sciences VI (BXLS VI), was oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap, about 40 percent larger than its predecessor, which raised US$4.6 billion in 2020.
The vehicle continues Blackstone’s strategy of funding individual drug assets rather than taking equity stakes in companies, targeting programs in advanced clinical stages with defined paths to market.
“Our partnerships with global leaders have produced 34 regulatory approvals of innovative medicines and devices,” said Nicholas Galakatos, global head of life sciences at Blackstone.
“This track record highlights how we work successfully with industry trailblazers to help bring their most important products to patients around the world.”
Since launching the platform in 2018, Blackstone has deployed capital across a series of large transactions tied to late-stage assets.
In 2020, it entered a US$2 billion collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to fund RNA interference therapies. In 2024, it committed US$750 million to Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) to support development of mRNA-based influenza vaccines.
More recently, the firm has continued to structure deals around Phase 3 programs. It agreed to provide US$400 million alongside Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to advance the leukemia drug bleximenib, and another US$400 million to Teva (NYSE:TEVA) to support development of duvakitug, a monoclonal antibody targeting inflammatory diseases.
Blackstone has also used royalty-based financing structures to fund oncology pipelines. In 2025, it committed US$700 million to support development of Merck’s (NYSE:MRK) sacituzumab tirumotecan, an antibody-drug conjugate being tested across multiple cancers, in exchange for a share of future revenues.
The platform has generated exits as well. Last year, Blackstone sold Anthos Therapeutics to Novartis (NYSE:NVS) for US$3.1 billion, marking one of its largest realized transactions in the space.
Several therapies backed by the firm have reached the market, including Alnylam’s Amvuttra, Novartis’ Leqvio, and AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) and Johnson & Johnson’s Imbruvica.
Blackstone said its life sciences platform has achieved an 86 percent regulatory approval rate for Phase 3 assets, exceeding industry averages. The BXLS platform managed about US$15 billion in assets as of the end of 2025.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
