Blackstone Group LP has agreed to buy Clarus, an investment firm focused on life sciences, to serve as a platform for future acquisitions and partnerships in an area it thinks lacks access to capital.
The deal, expected to be announced Thursday, will launch Blackstone’s life-sciences efforts, joining insurance and infrastructure as the private-equity giant’s newest business lines. While the initiative will start relatively small with a few billion in assets, Clarus already has investments in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals...