Blackstone Announces Largest-Ever Private Life Sciences Fund at $6.3B

The post-pandemic bubble popped, but life sciences aren’t going anywhere.

Blackstone announced Monday that it closed Blackstone Life Sciences VI (BXLS VI) at its hard cap of $6.3 billion in commitments. The asset management behemoth said it’s the largest private fund ever raised for life sciences and is nearly 40 percent larger than its predecessor vehicle.

Nicholas Galakatos, global head of Blackstone Life Sciences, said the firm has an “enduring conviction in the life sciences.”

“Our partnerships with global leaders have produced 34 regulatory approvals of innovative medicines and devices,” Galakatos said in a statement. “This track record highlights how we work successfully with industry trailblazers to help bring their most important products to patients around the world.”

BXLS launched in 2018 to invest across the life cycle of companies and products in key life science sectors. It had amassed $15 billion in assets — including real estate — by the end of 2025, with nearly $2 billion in new investments over the past 12 months. The company also claims it has an 86 percent approval success rate for clinical trial-focused Phase III assets, outperforming the industry’s average. 

Bloomberg first reported the news before Blackstone announced the fund closing.

The national life sciences real estate market is reaching a turning point, according to a report by CBRE published earlier this month. After two years of oversupply and stalled investment, the sector is starting to see measured improvements.

Lab and R&D construction has hit a 10-year low, per CBRE, but that’s finally easing pressure as demand for space has stabilized. Life sciences real estate transaction volume is expected to gain momentum in key markets over this year.

Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.