Boston at night [Photo by Lance Anderson on Unsplash]
Boston, San Francisco and San Diego remain the leading U.S. life science hubs — hauling in 70% of all the venture capital in the space last year, according to a new report from commercial real estate services company JLL.
Venture capital funding matters, according to JLL, because it fuels innovative companies that then require more real estate space. It’s little wonder that Boston and San Francisco led other clusters with respect to development, with 2.7 million square feet and 4.0 million square feet respectively under construction.
The U.S. is struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting recession. But JLL in its “2020 Life Sciences Real Estate Outlook” report expressed optimism when it comes to the life sciences sector. Key points in the report included:
- The pandemic has sparked a race to create coronavirus tests, therapeutics and vaccines;
- COVID-19 makes underlying conditions more serious, so demand is up for products that improve health;
- There is more of a recognition of the critical role that life science companies play both nationwide and worldwide;
- Telehealth could prove a game-changer int he medical device space.
Check out the chart below of how JLL ranked the top 14 life sciences clusters. Note that this is for the entire life sciences industry — pharma, medtech and more. For a comparison of medical device industry hubs, check out Medical Design & Outsourcing’s top medical device states report.
[Image courtesy of JLL]