Episode summary
Investing in Life Sciences | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec · Guests: Jenny Rooke
Summary
Blackstone Life Sciences is using its large balance sheet to back later-stage drug development, including a reported $250 million investment in biotech startup Anagram Therapeutics and a bigger push through a $6.3 billion life sciences fund. The hosts framed that as part of a broader shift in which private capital is moving deeper into medicines, clinical trials, and tools that can speed discovery and commercialization. They also noted Blackstone’s model of financing late-stage programs in exchange for royalties on future sales, while increasingly seeking equity stakes as well.
Jenny Rooke said that public-market enthusiasm matters for venture because it helps validate the space and supports the tool makers that feed drug discovery. She argued that oncology remains a major investment area, not because cures are near, but because cancer is complex, more people live long enough to develop it, and some cancers are rising among younger patients. She pointed to proteomics, better diagnostics, and AI-enabled data generation as key frontiers.
Rooke also said the biggest opportunity in healthcare AI comes from closing the loop between generating high-quality biological data and feeding it back into models. She cited Roche’s acquisition of PathAI as an example of the model working in practice, while noting that incentives in U.S. healthcare remain misaligned and that data accumulation is becoming a strategic issue across countries.
Key takeaways
- Blackstone Life Sciences has some $17 billion in AUM and is pushing further into owning equity in companies it finances, not just collecting royalties, according to the hosts.
- Jenny Rooke said public-market momentum helps venture investors by validating later-stage biotech and supporting demand for tools and infrastructure.
- Rooke said oncology still attracts heavy investment because cancer is complex, more common with aging populations, and increasingly diagnosed in younger patients too.
- Rooke argued that AI in healthcare only gets better when companies can generate high-quality biological data and feed it back into models in a closed loop.
- Rooke said the U.S. is competing with other geographies, including China, to build the best healthcare data sets and life-sciences infrastructure.
Notable quotes
“I think with AI there is this potential. Just I just want cancer to be cured”
“when you have in the public markets the interest, the capital, the emphasis on driving these later stage businesses forward”
“oncology is still one of the the leading segments for investment and innovation”
“AI is only as powerful as the quality and the amount of data that you put into it”
“The answer ends up being both. So you end up with large comprehensive data sets”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts radio news. — You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Stenc on Bloomberg Radio. — What's the matter? — You're thinking a lot about biotech. — I love the biotech sector. I think I still think that there's so much we have yet to learn about the body and how things work.
Um Yeah. And I think with AI there is this potential. Just I just want cancer to be cured. — I just want cancer to be cured. — Truly. — I know. I know. I feel like it's the the next big thing. We've figured what this idea of cancer moonshots and it's just I don't know. It's just like it's very frustrating.
Yeah, I know. I know. I know.
We talk about it a lot. We do. Uh there's a lot of money going though at the world of pharmaceuticals and and biotech and and one story we wanted to point out or Jerry Smith wrote this of Bloomberg that Blackstone is investing 250 million in a biotech startup.
It's anagram therapeutics. It's part of the private equity giant strategy to own more cutting edge drug makers. I mean it's called Blackstone Life Sciences.
They have some 17 billion in AUM typically investing in latestage medicines invented uh by biotech and pharma companies in exchange for royalty and future sales. That gets into the model. I think what's interesting to me is their latest life sciences fund has 6.3 billion of commitments.
It's the firm's biggest hall for backing clinical trials of medicines and technologies. I like to see where the money flows. I also think money can help make things happen and hopefully have a cure for cancer.
We put it in one bucket, but there's hopefully lots of cures.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- life sciences investing
- royalty financing
- biotech clinical trials
- fund commitments
- tech and health crossover
Companies and tickers mentioned
- BX
- MRNA
- Blackstone
- Moderna
- Genoa Ventures
Watch the episode
Watch “Investing in Life Sciences | Bloomberg Businessweek” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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