Blackstone Life Sciences, which has some $17 billion in assets under management, typically invests in late-stage medicines invented by biotech and pharmaceutical companies in exchange for a royalty on future sales. In 2024, for example, the firm invested as much as $750 million in financing for Moderna’s flu vaccine development.

But Blackstone also wants to own a stake in some companies that it backs.
In late March, Blackstone closed its latest life-sciences fund with $6.3 billion of commitments, the firm’s biggest haul for backing clinical trials of medicines and technologies. 

Dr. Jenny Rooke is Founder and Managing Director of Genoa Ventures. She discusses the cross between tech and health with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec.