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Apogee lands a record $1.3B financing from Blackstone & Kardigan plans an IPO

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Joachim Eeckhout & Eduardo Longoria
May 28, 2026

Good morning. From Palantir to pharma AI is quite the reputation pivot: after helping build one of the world’s most controversial data companies, Perceptic’s founders now want to create the operating system for the future of medicine and just raised $12 million to do that. Probably a better use of brain power than trying to build a dystopia.

— Joachim E.

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SNAPSHOT

Apogee lands a record $1.3B Blackstone financing deal to fast-track its eczema drug

Apogee Therapeutics secured up to $1.3 billion in non-dilutive financing from Blackstone Life Sciences to advance its anti-IL-13 antibody zumilokibart through late-stage development for moderate-to-severe eczema.

Why it matters: The deal positions Apogee to compete in the lucrative atopic dermatitis market currently dominated by Eli Lilly’s Ebglyss and Sanofi / Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’s Dupixent.

Backstory: Zumilokibart posted encouraging phase 2 eczema data earlier this year, with analysts suggesting it could rival leading therapies on efficacy and dosing convenience. Apogee already held $1.3 billion in cash at the end of March but needed additional capital to fund expensive phase 3 trials and commercialization plans.

Zoom in: Blackstone may provide up to $800 million tied to development and regulatory milestones in exchange for low-to-mid single-digit royalties on zumilokibart sales for 15 years. As part of this deal, Apogee will receive $100 million immediately and $100 million after phase 3 enrollment completion, along with $200 million after positive phase 3 data and $400 million upon FDA approval. The deal also includes access to an additional $500 million in optional senior debt financing.

Big picture: Blackstone is increasingly using large-scale royalty financing to back promising biotech assets before commercialization. The Apogee agreement is being described as the largest royalty financing ever for a pre-phase 3 drug program, signaling confidence in high-value immunology assets despite tighter biotech capital markets.

What’s next: Apogee plans to launch phase 3 testing for eczema while expanding zumilokibart into other inflammatory diseases, including eosinophilic esophagitis in late 2026 and asthma in early 2027. 

SNIPPETS

What’s happening in biotech today?

🫀 IPO pump: Kardigan, a New Jersey-based precision medicine biotech, has filed for a US IPO to support development of three late-stage cardiovascular therapies targeting conditions with limited or no approved treatments. Its pipeline includes danicamtiv for genetic dilated cardiomyopathy, ataciguat for calcific aortic valve stenosis, and tonlamarsen for acute severe hypertension through hepatic angiotensinogen targeting. Kardigan’s filing reflects a broader reopening of the biotech IPO market in 2026, as investors show renewed interest in companies with advanced-stage pipelines and clearer commercial potential.

🌱 Seed round: California-based Protuoso Biosciences has raised $9.5 million in seed funding to advance its MUXBODIES platform, which develops multifunctional biologics capable of combining antibodies, cytokines, peptides, and other signalling modules into a single therapeutic. Led by Taya Venture and Darwin Ventures, the financing will support programs in cardiometabolic disease, oncology, and autoimmune conditions. The company aims to address complex diseases driven by interconnected biology by engineering therapies that target multiple pathways simultaneously. Protuoso says its “mix-and-match” platform overcomes traditional engineering challenges associated with multifunctional biologics and could expand the therapeutic potential of biologic medicines.

🚀 MASH momentum: D&D Pharmatech reported positive phase 2 data for its GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist zabopegdutide in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), showing improvements in fibrosis and disease resolution after 48 weeks of treatment. Half of patients receiving the 40 mg dose achieved at least a one-stage fibrosis improvement without worsening MASH, while 10 of 16 patients experienced MASH resolution without fibrosis worsening. The placebo-adjusted effect sizes compared favorably with results reported for competing therapies from Madrigal, Novo Nordisk, and Eli Lilly, though D&D’s study involved a small patient population. The data support the company’s efforts to compete in the increasingly active MASH market, where approved and investigational GLP-1-based therapies are gaining momentum.

🧊 FDA freeze: The FDA has delayed its decision on AstraZeneca’s oral SERD camizestrant for breast cancer after the company submitted additional analyses following a negative advisory committee vote. Camizestrant was filed for approval based on the phase 3 Serena-6 trial, which showed a 56% improvement in progression-free survival when patients with ESR1 mutations switched from an aromatase inhibitor to camizestrant alongside CDK4/6 therapy. However, FDA advisers voted 6-3 against approval, citing concerns about the study’s clinical relevance and design. AstraZeneca has since provided further data, including analyses linking circulating tumor DNA clearance to long-term efficacy outcomes, which will be presented at ASCO. Despite the setback, AstraZeneca continues to pursue broader breast cancer indications for camizestrant, which it projects could eventually exceed $5 billion in peak annual sales.

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