Blackstone to Acquire Nucleus Network, Australia’s Largest Phase One Clinical Trials Specialist

Sydney – Blackstone (NYSE:BX) announced today that private equity funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”) have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Nucleus Network, Australia’s largest phase one clinical trials provider with world-class facilities in Melbourne, Brisbane and Minneapolis.

Australia is a globally leading destination for clinical trials supported by the country’s open regulatory regime, strong talent pool, and distinguished research and healthcare facilities. Phase one trial volumes in Australia are expected to grow significantly, driven by the increasing demand from offshore biotech companies to conduct speedy and reliable trials.

Cameron Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Nucleus Network, said: “After five years of substantial growth, this new partnership with Blackstone is a perfect match for Nucleus Network. We are excited to leverage Blackstone’s expansive global network and significant experience in the life sciences sector to accelerate our next phase of global growth in phase one clinical trial delivery.”

James Carnegie, Head of Private Equity, Blackstone Australia, said: “We look forward to working with Cameron Johnson and his outstanding team to help Nucleus enter its next phase of growth, combining the domain expertise and scale of the Blackstone Life Sciences network with their talent, experience and enthusiasm. We’re proud to back one of Australia’s market leading phase one clinical trials providers as they look to expand and serve the rapidly growing biotech market both here and internationally.”

Life sciences is one of Blackstone’s highest conviction investment themes. In addition to substantial capital invested across Private Equity, Real Estate and Credit strategies, Blackstone’s specialist Life Sciences investment platform (BXLS) has more than $7 billion in assets under management and helps bring to market promising new medicines and medical technologies. In July 2020, BXLS raised the largest private life sciences fund to date.

Blackstone has a strong track record of investing in healthcare and life sciences in Asia and around the world. Earlier this year, it completed the corporate carveout of Alinamin Pharmaceutical in Japan in the largest private equity deal in the country since 2017. In 2020, Blackstone invested in Precision Medicine Group, a next-generation life sciences services and technology company that helps biopharmaceutical companies design and conduct complex biomarker-based clinical trials and bring innovative therapies to market.

Over the last 15 years, Nucleus has helped deliver more than 800 phase one clinical trials, supporting the commercialization of innovative new medicines and therapies. With its exceptional clinical and regulatory expertise, it has become a trusted specialist partner to biotech companies and research hospitals around the world.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $731 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

About Nucleus Network

Nucleus Network is Australia’s largest Phase 1 clinical research provider and the only Phase 1 specialist globally with facilities in the USA and Australia. Our Phase 1 facilities in Melbourne, Brisbane and Minneapolis are strategically co-located within leading medical, research and biotech precincts and provide us with unique access to highly specialized ancillary services for the conduct of complex Phase 1 clinical trials. From specialist pharmacodynamic equipment for first in human studies in Melbourne, purpose-built infrastructure for high volume biosimilar studies in Brisbane, and onsite dialysis capabilities for complicated renal studies in Minneapolis, Nucleus Network has the experience to conduct the most complex early phase clinical trials. Together with our clients, we are fulfilling our purpose of “Advancing medicine, improving lives.”

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