Focus

California's life sciences industry generates $414B per year: Biocom California report

Commercial Observer – June 6

California was, by January 1, 2023, home to nearly 470,000 jobs that generated $413.7 billion in total business output in 2022, according to Biocom California’s 2023 Economic Impact Report. This represents a nearly 8 percent yearly increase in employment and a 10 percent jump in economic activity generated. The state's lab job growth outpaces all other industries in California (4.2 percent) as well as job growth in the U.S. overall (3.5 percent). But at the same time, private investment in California's life sciences from traditional sources declined during 2022, especially compared to the dynamic private financing environment during the first two years of the pandemic, according to the report.

News

Biopharma's green shoots thriving in summer sun as deal activity returns

Fierce Biotech – July 11

According to a new quarterly review of U.S. biopharma, after hitting near rock bottom in the summer of 2022, sentiment is now improving across the sector. The second quarter saw "meaningful M&A"—16 transactions totaling $29.1 billion in deal value. Highlights include Eli Lilly's two deals for Sigilon Therapeutics and Dice Therapeutics for $35 million and $2.4 billion, respectively, and GSK's $2 billion purchase of Bellus Health. The defining feature of these deals was later-stage assets that pharma companies can bring on to patch up losses from the expected end of patent exclusivity for key drugs.

San Francisco mayor's answer to downtown mall's woes: lab space

San Francisco Standard – June 13

At a San Francisco Chamber of Commerce breakfast last month, Mayor London Breed made a curious pitch for the future of the troubled Westfield San Francisco Centre in Downtown. "We have to look at Westfield mall, not as a mall losing stores, which probably most people didn't even shop in, but as a place ripe for reimagining from science to technology to lab space," Breed said. Part of Breed's argument is that lab and research and development space have far lower vacancy rates than the broader office market. San Francisco's 1 million square feet of lab inventory pales in comparison with traditional life science centers like the Peninsula (17 million square feet) or even Oakland (7.8 million square feet).

Senior housing a target in new Bain Capital fund, raising almost $4B

Senior Housing News – July 7

Bain Capital is reportedly spinning up a third fund totaling $3.75 billion that will include senior housing projects as a targeted real estate investment type. Bain is reportedly moving ahead with the new fund with the intention of targeting a wide swath of property types ranging from life sciences and medical office to affordable housing and senior housing. About three-fourths of the fund is slated for investments in North America, according to Bisnow.

Deals

Sterling Bay, Harrison Street break ground on Sorrento Mesa biotech campus

Connect CRE – May 24

Sterling Bay and co-development partner Harrison Street have closed on a $265-million construction loan from Bank OZK on Pacific Center, a $650-million life sciences campus being developed in various phases over the next four years in San Diego's Sorrento Mesa submarket. With financing in hand, Sterling Bay and Harrison Street broke ground on the first phase of Pacific Center, which will bring 500,000 rentable square feet of scientific research space, a 28,000-square-foot amenity center and a 1,700-space parking facility to San Diego's leading innovation district.

Alexandria, Nuveen sell majority stake in $161M San Diego asset

Commercial Property Executive – June 23

Alexandria Real Estate Equities has recapitalized a joint venture which owns 9625 Towne Centre Drive, a San Diego life science asset. The research facility was purpose-built for Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Alexandria and Nuveen sold a 70 percent interest in the property at a total valuation of $160.5 million or $981 per rentable square foot, at a capitalization rate of 4.5 percent.

Rubi Laboratories signs 16,884-SF lease at Radius @ Harbor Bay Campus in Alameda

REBusiness Online – June 8

Rubi Laboratories, a California-based biotechnology company, has signed a 16,884-square-foot lease at the Radius @ Harbor Bay campus in Alameda, a nearly 700,000-square-foot life sciences and innovation campus located at 1501 Harbor Bay Parkway. The property features a new backup power generator, HVAC service with 100 percent outdoor air, 13-foot clear heights, and an outdoor screened equipment pad.

Pharmaceutical company plans 14-acre expansion in Oceanside corporate center

The San Diego Union-Tribune – July 10

Gilead Sciences Inc. plans to build a new manufacturing center on 14 acres alongside its existing facility in the Ocean Ranch Corporate Center, according to a preliminary application submitted to the Oceanside Planning Division. Founded in 1987, the company bought a 70,000-square-foot clinical manufacturing plant in Oceanside from Genentech Pharmaceuticals in 2011. Last year, Gilead bought an additional 27 acres of undeveloped land on Ocean Ranch Boulevard for a reported $132.5 million, or $4.9 million per acre.

Ideaya Biosciences to move HQ to revamped complex in South SF

The Real Deal – June 8

A $164.5-million purchase by DivcoWest of a 140,000-square-foot former office building in South San Francisco last year has paid off with a major life sciences lease. South San Francisco-based Ideaya Biosciences is moving its headquarters across town to take up 44,000 square feet at the redeveloped labs at 5000 Shoreline Court, the San Francisco Business Times reported. The eight-year-old precision medicine startup is expected to relocate next year from its 30,000-square-foot hub at 7000 Shoreline, less than a block away, according to regulatory filings.

Westlake Village BioPartners launches new $450M fund

Pacific Coast Business Times – July 17

Westlake Village BioPartners, a venture capital firm focused on biotechnology startups in the Conejo Valley and the rest of greater Los Angeles, announced the closing of its third fund on July 17, raising $450 million that will go toward early-stage next-generation biotechnology companies. So far, Westlake has established eight companies in the Conejo Valley region.