Life Sciences
A guide to understanding life sciences in commercial real estate
What Is Life Sciences Real Estate?
Life sciences in real estate refers to a commercial real estate asset class dedicated to providing both laboratory and office space for tenants involved in the study and development of scientific discoveries. Life sciences spaces can either be built from the ground up or converted from an existing office or industrial building.
Biscred’s prospecting platform and CRE database includes more than 8,000 companies that work within the life science CRE asset class, including:
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2,563 construction companies
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1,539 general contractors
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1,050 engineering firms
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946 architectural firms*
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779 professional services firms
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611 CRE developers
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547 interior design firms
*The number of firms, companies and contacts represent a snapshot in time. Biscred is continually updating its database, which means the number of companies and professionals changes regularly. The best way to find out how Biscred’s database works is to schedule a demo.
What Are The Top Life Sciences Markets in the USA?
Top life sciences markets tend to position themselves around universities with strong life sciences programs, as they can provide accessibility to prospective employees. As of 2023, the top 10 research universities in the USA are:
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Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
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Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
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MIT, Cambridge, Mass.
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Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
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University of California San Francisco
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University of California Los Angeles
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Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
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University of California San Diego
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University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
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University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Penn.
Where are Biotech Companies Located?
Unsurprisingly, the Boston area and coastal California top the list for the largest life sciences clusters by square footage. The following are the top 5 biotechnology centers, by number of companies and related services located in the area (FierceBiotech and TopUniversities):
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Boston (Cambridge)
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San Francisco
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San Diego
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Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
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Washington DC and Baltimore
Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts
Bloomberg reported that Boston life sciences encompasses the most square feet in both planning and development, consisting of approximately 32M SF, with 62M SF in various stages of development, making it the biotech capital of the world. It is also home to the country's largest pharmaceutical cluster, according to Fiercebiotech. More than 1,000 biotech companies are located in the Boston area (Yahoo Finance), and it is the second-largest life science employment cluster in the US, according to CBRE.
As of November 2025, Biscred's database includes contact information for 25,103 professionals at 1,029 commercial real estate companies that own, operate or serve 9,179 life sciences buildings in the Boston-Cambridge area.
As of January 2024, Biscred's database includes contact information for 38,299 professionals at 567 commercial real estate companies that own, operate or serve life sciences companies in the Boston-Cambridge area.
San Francisco Bay Area
Competing for the title of biotech capital of the world, San Francisco's life sciences market has a total of 34M SF, with 18M SF in progress, Bloomberg reported. It's the largest area for life sciences employment and the third-largest talent cluster for professionals who work in life sciences (CBRE).
As of November 2025, the Biscred database contains information about 12,032 life science buildings and 1,081 companies that employ 18,305 professionals in life sciences commercial real estate in the San Francisco area.
Coastal California (San Diego and Los Angeles)
San Diego has 31.6M SF construction, Times of San Diego reported. San Diego and Los Angeles are No. 5 and 7, respectively, on CBRE's list of the top research talent clusters in the USA.
As of November 2025, Biscred's database includes 1,089 CRE life science companies with 17,265 contacts and 13,667 buildings in the Coastal California area.
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
Home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park covers roughly 7,000 acres in Durham, North Carolina. More than 300 companies employ 65,000 workers, and it gets its "triangle" name because of its geographic proximity to North Carolina State University, Duke University, and UNC Chapel Hill.
As of November 2025, Biscred's database includes 159 CRE companies and 5,223 buildings in the life science sector in the Raleigh-Durham area, and we have contacts for more than 1,071 professionals who work there.
Washington, DC and Baltimore
The DC-Baltimore metro area is No. 2 in the nation for life science research talent centers (CBRE) and No. 5 for employment in life sciences. It's also home to Johns Hopkins University, which is second to Harvard on Top Universities list of top research universities in the country.
As of November 2025, Biscred's database contains contact information for nearly 2,650 CRE professionals, 137 companies, and 2,974 buildings in life science CRE and around the DC-Maryland area.
Types of Life Science Buildings
Research facilities
Research facilities in life science commercial real estate are defined as general lab types and configurations. The next section, research and development facilities -- or R&D -- tend to focus on commercial applications and tend to be proximal to manufacturing sites.
For research to be conducted safely and efficiently, labs need to have facilities that can accommodate their unique needs. While labs must follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for laboratories, the lab design can depend on the equipment and furniture tenants require. Below are the types of labs:
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Dry labs are used for research that is done on computers with spaces and furniture that need to be durable enough to support equipment and wiring. Dry labs usually involve electronics and are not associated with significant risk.
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Wet labs involve the use of liquids and potentially hazardous components. Wet labs do involve biological risk and hazards, so must be constructed around these dangers and compliance requirements.
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Chemistry lab is type of wet lab where researchers are working with hazardous materials. They are built with safety features for potentially dangerous wet, dry, and gaseous materials
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Biology lab is another type of wet lab that accounts for bacteria and contamination. Biology research spaces contain surfaces made of either metal and stainless steel, which can easily be sanitized.
Research & development labs
Research and development labs — or R&D facilities — are defined as specialized properties that may combine office, laboratory and even light industrial spaces to support innovation, testing, and prototyping in the biotech, technology and manufacturing sectors. They are typically located near talent centers (research universities) and biotech or production hubs.
When it comes to life sciences development and architecture, developers have to consider the special needs of healthcare real estate development, biotech R&D, and biomanufacturing. These operations have specific and legal requirements for handling and disposing of biological and hazardous materials.
Research and development labs include anything involving research, innovation, and experimentation with new products. This can include chemistry, materials, and even electronics or software.
Because of the broad scope of research and development labs, the requirements will depend on the lab. Generally, R&D labs are located near manufacturers and adhere to practices related to their respective industries. The goal being safe production and delivery of new test products.
Biomanufacturing facilities
Biomanufacturing is a process by which a naturally occurring system is used to synthesize products related to food and drink production, as well as vaccine development. Biomanufacturing labs can be differentiated depending on the size and needs of the facility, according to Bisnow:
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Pilot sites are typically used for smaller-scale manufacturing and would therefore consist of approximately 100,000 square feet lab space.
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Large-scale sites consist of 250,000 square feet or more and may need more space and equipment for larger projects, such as that of a pharmaceutical company.
Companies may also consider seeking the services of contractors such as:
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Contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, which assist companies with producing drugs.
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Contract development manufacturing organizations, which are involved with both creation and production.
Types of Life Science Tenants
Pharmaceutical
Pharma tenants include companies that develop medications, including both generic and innovative. Pharmaceutical manufacturers work with chemicals and other substances to develop drugs.
Environmental science
Environmental sciences firms are organizations that support research and monitoring related to the environment. An environmental science tenant may need a lab to study soil samples and work with living organisms like plants.
Biotechnology
Biotech firms handle the production of products through natural growth, such as through cell cultures. An example would be a vaccine.
Food industry
A potential tenant can be a food manufacturer that wants to test their products for quality or regulatory compliance. The food industry often uses preservatives that need to be tested in labs before they’re moved to production, for example.
Medical device engineering & manufacturing
A medical device manufacturer designs, engineers and creates medical equipment to help treat, monitor, or prevent a medical condition. For example, a pacemaker, prosthesis or heart monitor company would fall under medical devices in life science.
Nutraceutical
This is a manufacturer that creates nutraceuticals such as dietary supplements, protein powder, and other nutrition products.
Analytical testing
A non-clinical testing company handles samples from many sources for testing and analysis, including drug screening, food testing, and other lab testing that could be related to legal or investigative purposes.
Contract research and manufacturing
This may include any firm that any of the above organizations may outsource to research or produce new products. Their facility will be multi-use to meet the needs of their clients.
What's Different About Life Science CRE
Life sciences buildings have to be created around the specific needs of research and experimentation, which fall under R&D and biomanufacturing in commercial real estate. Depending on the use of the property, and if it needs wet or dry labs, the construction and planning will need to change.
How are life science properties different from other properties?
Life science properties need a few features unique to life sciences, such as vibration control, which prevents building vibrations from affecting the research being conducted. Another example is mechanical separation between something like a common office and a science laboratory where a hazardous material needs to be controlled. You can read more about the specific requirements of life science CRE in this Biscred article.
What’s the demand for life science CRE?
There was a surge in demand for life science facilities in 2020 around the COVID-19 pandemic with many facilities being converted to lab or R&D spaces according to the CBRE 2024 report on life science construction benchmarks and trends. Overall, the life sciences CRE construction trends have normalized to pre-pandemic levels.
Part of this reduction in demand is the 20% increase in construction costs of life sciences facilities compared to pre-pandemic levels according to the same CBRE report.
What are next-gen life science buildings?
Builders and planners have learned that next-gen life sciences buildings need to be flexible and adaptive to handle sudden, unexpected demand. It’s also more important than ever to maximize the efficiency and use of a space with practical counters, cabinets, and storage.
Next-gen facilities are also equipped with modern HVAC systems and have configurations that are modular to the needs of some of the tenants we outlined earlier. Flexibility is key with life sciences facilities, so consider the potential needs of tenants such as safe material handling and sustainable energy practices.
What markets are hot for life science CRE?
There are several markets that are still hot for life science CRE related to hands-on research and in-person collaboration. These markets fall into 5 key locations: Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham, and Philadelphia.
What Are Some Considerations For Life Sciences Real Estate?
Aside from meeting safety regulations, labs should allow for ease of movement so that people can have offices to hold meetings as well as space to move around safely within the lab. There should also be enough room within the lab to include additional work areas and equipment in case labs need to be modified. Related: 6 Things Life Science Buildings Need
What are the top life sciences markets in the USA?
Some of the top hubs for biotechnology and life sciences in the USA as of 2025 are, according to Biotech Primer:
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Boston-Cambridge: MIT, Harvard, and other larger biotech organizations (often considered the biotech capital of the world)
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San Diego: Research hub for biotech
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Philadelphia: Tenants related to cell research and gene therapy
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San Francisco: Proximity to Silicon Valley with many biotech companies located nearby
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Raleigh-Dunham: Lower cost of business drives research and manufacturing
Who are the key decision makers to target at life science CRE companies?
At life science CRE companies, there are a few key job titles that are important for anyone interested in doing business with life sciences commercial real estate.
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Facility manager
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COO (chief operating officer)
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Project manager
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Procurement (material and supply buying decisions)
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Finance managers (concerned with buying and selling of properties, not materials and supplies)
The key decision maker for your business will change depending on your area of focus or expertise. Connecting with these key decision makers may drive new business toward your organization.
Enriched Data for Life Science CRE At Your Fingertips
Biscred provides access to one of the most comprehensive databases that focuses on the commercial real estate industry, including adjacent industries. Our unique method of data collection leverages publicly available data enriched through human analysis to produce an ever-growing, ever-expanding platform. As of 2025, Biscred houses information for more than 553,000 companies and 4.6 million professionals in CRE.
Here is a sampling of our life science sector data:
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Life science REITs and real estate investment firms: 458 companies and 21,564 people
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Life science and pharma construction, general contractor and development firms: 4,386 companies and more than 195,000 people.
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Property management firms for life science CRE: 373 companies and 69,500+ people
Life science HQ clusters in the US
Biscred's analysis shows that the top states for biotech, pharma and life science clusters are in California, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and Florida — 50% of life science companies' headquarters in the Biscred database are located in these six states.
Largest life science real estate owners
CRE ownership, as you know, is complicated. An ownership structure could be composed of several entities including real estate investment firms, real estate investment trusts, institutional investors and owner/operators. Our guide, “How to Find and Contact Commercial Property Owners,” explains CRE ownership. We have an entire eBook series on prospecting, audience building, and targeting for CRE.
In terms of property count, these are among the top life science CRE operators, REIF and REIT firms: Realty Income, Prologis, EQT, Rosati Group, and the RMR Group.
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