In 2025, the U.S. life sciences market is at a turning point after a decade of rapid growth and volatility: A steady bull run starting in 2015 gave way to a pandemic-driven race to build lab space, followed by a correction in early 2022 amid economic headwinds. Now, while oversupply and federal funding cuts remain challenges, renewed venture capital activity and the rise of emerging technologies point to long-term confidence.
But, the real story of life sciences isn’t just in broad metro-level trends. Rather, it’s playing out at the submarket level. That’s because these hyper-localized areas — shaped by a mix of institutions, talent pipelines and development patterns — offer a sharper view of what’s driving the sector forward. Therefore, understanding these submarkets is key to spotting where the next wave of growth and innovation is happening.
With that in mind, this study takes a deep dive into the U.S. life sciences sector through a submarket lens, first breaking down where the biggest development pipelines are and which areas saw the most expansion throughout the last decade. To see investment trends, jump ahead to see which submarkets led in sales, as well as a ranking of the biggest life sciences deals of the past 10 years.
Key Takeaways
- Active Pipeline Leader: Cambridge leads the life sciences real estate market with 2.1 million square feet under construction, countering concerns about oversupply.
- Emerging Submarkets: Boston’s Fenway and Brighton-Brookline submarkets are emerging as alternatives to Cambridge, Mass., while Philadelphia’s University City strengthens its position through expertise in cell and gene therapy.
- Decade Growth: Between 2015 and 2024, South San Francisco added approximately 5 million square feet of life sciences space, alongside notable growth in Seattle’s Lake Union and Houston’s Medical Center.
- Sales Activity: Cambridge dominated investment activity with $5.84 billion in sales between 2015 and 2024, followed by Boston’s Route 128 Central at $2.24 billion and South San Francisco at $2.09 billion. The $1 billion sale at 100 Binney St. (the largest transaction during this period) reinforces Cambridge’s status as the leading life sciences submarket.
Cambridge Leads Supply Pipeline Amid Rising Competition from Fenway & Houston’s Medical Center
Cambridge, Mass., remains the nation’s undisputed leader in life sciences real estate with 12.3 million square feet of lab space — roughly one-third of the total inventory of the greater Boston metro (which includes Cambridge). Its biotech legacy dates back to the 1970s, and its dominance continues today. With 2.13 million square feet currently under construction, the market is set for a 17% expansion, led by projects like 290 Binney St., a 573,000-square-foot development that’s already fully pre-leased ahead of its 2026 completion.
Just across the river, Fenway is making a serious push, ranking second nationwide for lab space under construction. With 1.87 million square feet of lab space under construction, the submarket is set to nearly double its existing inventory of 1.98 million square feet, marking significant growth. This expansion is driven by key developments, including 725 Beacon St., the largest life sciences project under construction in the U.S. at 960,000 square feet, and 421 Park Drive, which will add 600,000 square feet to Alexandria Real Estate’s Fenway campus. Fenway’s appeal stems from its proximity to the Longwood Medical Area, excellent transit access, and its role as a cost-effective alternative to Cambridge, attracting life sciences companies eager to stay near top research and medical institutions.
In the South, Houston’s Medical Center took third place with 1.4 million square feet under construction — an expansion of 52% on its existing 2.7 million square feet. Anchored by the massive Texas Medical Center, the submarket is seeing major projects like MD Anderson’s translational research hub and Texas A&M’s life sciences tower. Plus, with the ninth-largest lab inventory in the country, Houston’s lower costs and deep talent pool are positioning this submarket as a serious competitor to pricier coastal hubs.
On the West Coast, San Diego’s Sorrento Valley is progressing with 1.2 million square feet in development, boosting its capacity by 35%. Here, demand remains evident: An undisclosed major pharmaceutical firm recently pre-leased approximately half of a 253,000-square-foot life sciences building currently under construction at 10075 Barnes Canyon Road, which is part of Alexandria Real Estate’s SD Tech Mega Campus. The firm’s commitment has resulted in the building being 70% pre-leased ahead of its scheduled opening later this year, clearly indicating the strength of the local submarket.
Rounding out the top five, South San Francisco — the country’s second-largest life sciences submarket — has 1.2 million square feet under construction, marking a 12% expansion. However, the submarket faces a 27% vacancy rate across its office and lab space following a wave of overbuilding. Consequently, developers are adjusting strategies. For example, projects currently underway, such as Kilroy Realty’s $1 billion Oyster Point Phase 2, are designed for maximum flexibility and are catering to emerging biotechs, rather than just major pharmaceutical players.
Beyond the top five, other markets are similarly gaining momentum. Namely, Brighton-Brookline (#6) of Boston and Philadelphia’s University City (#7) are both leveraging their ties to major institutions. Brighton-Brookline is set to double its inventory with 1.08 million square feet in development, led by Harvard’s $1.5 billion Enterprise Research Campus, which is advancing work in gene therapy and AI-driven drug discovery. Meanwhile, University City has more than 1 million square feet under construction, including Drexel University’s 3201 Cuthbert St., which is the market’s largest upcoming life sciences project.
Further down the list, Greenburgh, N.Y. (#8); downtown San Diego (#9); and Redwood City (#10) in the San Francisco area are also carving out their own niches. Greenburgh’s 900,000-square-foot expansion is closely tied to Regeneron’s work in immunology and oncology, reinforcing the area as a specialized research hub. At the same time, downtown San Diego is reimagining itself with 620,000 square feet at Horton Plaza by blending lab space with the city’s vibrant urban core, although the transformation carries some risk as financial strain on the project builds. And, Redwood City is pushing forward with 600,000 square feet at IQHQ’s Elco Yards. In fact, it’s already 30% pre-leased with tenants including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is a major player in biomedical research and AI-driven drug discovery.
South San Francisco Surpasses Cambridge, Mass., in Decade Growth (2015-2024) as Newcomers Rise
Between 2015 and 2024, the U.S. life sciences sector grew by about 48.1 million square feet, driven by breakthroughs like CRISPR and steady investment in lab space. While Boston, San Francisco and San Diego remained dominant, newer markets also gained ground, shifting the competitive landscape. Leading the way, South San Francisco added nearly 5 million square feet to double its inventory in the decade and outpace Cambridge, Mass., in total growth.
In this case, a key driver of South San Francisco’s expansion was BioMed Realty’s Gateway of Pacific — a $650 million development that attracted high-profile tenants like Xaira, a biotech applying artificial intelligence to drug discovery. That said, Cambridge, Mass., remains the country’s largest life sciences hub after adding 3.8 million square feet for a 45.3% increase in the last decade. Although its base is still unmatched, South San Francisco’s faster growth closed the gap, at least for now.
Likewise, Boston’s footprint in the sector is hard to ignore with six of the nation’s 10 fastest-growing submarkets. Specifically, Route 128 Central (#3) added 2.5 million square feet with Waltham alone delivering nearly 1 million square feet in 2022. And, Medford-Malden (#4) saw one of the steepest climbs, growing from just 250,000 square feet to more than 2 million, fueled by a huge 2024 that brought more than 1.3 million square feet near Assembly Square. Then, Seaport (#5) and the Charles River Mill District (#6) followed with Seaport expanding by 88% (adding 2 million square feet) and Charles River Mill District surging 122% (1.4 million square feet), thanks to three major projects in Watertown in 2023. Rounding out Boston’s top submarkets, Fenway (#10) grew by 117%, adding 1.07 million square feet through projects like Longwood Center and 201 Brookline, which were completed in 2022.
On the opposite Coast, Seattle’s Lake Union (#7) made a big leap after adding 1.23 million square feet — a 188% increase. First, the submarket gained traction with the Allen Institute’s headquarters in 2015 and later solidified its standing with the 311,000-square-foot Eleven50 at Eastlake, which was completed in 2023. Further south in the Bay Area, Brisbane (#8) expanded from just 200,000 square feet to more than 1.4 million, led by projects like Genesis Marina and The Shore at Sierra Point. That push made it one of San Francisco’s top three largest life sciences submarkets.
Back east, Philadelphia’s University City (#9) continued to climb, adding about 1.1 million square feet to its 750,000-square-foot base with most of that growth occurring in 2023 and 2024. The $350 million, 435,000-square-foot 3151 Market St. (completed in October 2024) was a key piece of the $3.5 billion Schuylkill Yards plan, further cementing Philadelphia’s status as an emerging player in the sector.
Cambridge, Mass., Claims 20% of $26.2B Life Sciences Submarket Sales (2015-2024)
The decade spanning 2015 to 2024 proved to be a dynamic period for the life sciences real estate sector in the U.S. with total sales reaching $26.2 billion across 405 transactions and encompassing 60.9 million square feet of space. At the metropolitan level, Boston stood out as a dominant force with its submarkets collectively contributing approximately 40% of the total sales value, which equated to $10.4 billion. However, this significant activity was not limited to Boston alone, as other regions — such as San Diego; San Francisco; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; the Bay Area in California; Seattle; White Plains, N.Y.; and Washington, D.C. — also played key roles in shaping the market landscape.
Once again, Cambridge, Mass., led all submarkets after posting $5.3 billion in total sales value from 19 transactions. Hot on its heels was Route 128 Central, another Boston submarket, which recorded $2.2 billion across 21 deals. South San Francisco claimed the third spot with $2.04 billion from 13 transactions. Together, these three submarkets — the only ones to exceed the $2 billion threshold —accounted for more than one-third of the decade’s investor activity.
Just below this top tier, Sorrento Valley in San Diego achieved $1.23 billion through 24 transactions, displaying the power of consistent deal volume. For comparison, Research Triangle Park in the Carolina Triangle approached the billion-dollar mark with $960.4 million from 21 deals. The latter is notable for its affordability with an average price of $273 per square foot — the lowest among the leading submarkets.
Not far behind, other submarkets also demonstrated the effect of high-value, low-volume transactions. In particular, Palo Alto, Calif., (located in the Bay Area) tallied $826 million from just five deals, whereas Seattle’s Lake Union posted $731 million across four transactions to boast the highest average price per square foot at $1,399. Back east, Greenburgh in White Plains, N.Y., reached $720 million through a single monumental deal.
Yet, in terms of square footage transacted, Cambridge, Mass., led with 3.88 million square feet. It was followed closely by Route 128 Central with 3.61 million square feet and Research Triangle Park with 3.51 million square feet, reflecting the substantial scale of life sciences infrastructure in these hubs.
Zooming out to broader markets, Boston’s 10-year haul was heavily driven by Cambridge, which accounted for more than half of the metro area’s sales value. Otherwise, in the San Francisco market, South San Francisco dominated, while San Diego’s activity was bolstered by Sorrento Valley’s strong performance. Finally, Palo Alto, Calif., served as a key driver in the Bay Area, and Research Triangle Park anchored the Carolina Triangle.
Cambridge’s $1B Deal: Decade’s Largest in Life Sciences
Cambridge clinched six of the top 20 one-off life sciences deals of the decade (2015 through 2024), including the top three positions. Leading the list was the $1.02 billion transaction for 100 Binney St. in Kendall Square. In 2022, Alexandria Real Estate Equities sold a 70% stake in the 432,931-square-foot facility — home to Bristol Myers Squibb and Meta — to CBRE Investment Management for $713.2 million, implying a total valuation of $1.02 billion. This recapitalization freed capital, thereby enabling Alexandria to reinvest in new opportunities.
To that end, that same year, Alexandria acquired One Charles Park in East Cambridge’s First Street corridor for $775 million. The 408,000-square-foot property, built in 1986, was redeveloped into lab and office space with renovations completed by early 2024. Alexandria also secured third place with its $725 million purchase in 2016 of One Kendall Square, a 669,689-square-foot complex that jumped from a $395 million valuation two years prior — a sign of Kendall Square’s rise as a life sciences hub at the time.
Breaking Cambridge’s streak, the fourth-largest deal was the $720 million sale in 2017 of The Landmark at Eastview in White Plains, N.Y.’s Greenburgh. Bank of America bought the campus from Regeneron, which then leased it back for five years with options to extend, purchase or resell.
Next, Cambridge once again reasserted dominance with Boston Properties’ $602 million purchase in 2022 of The Kendall Center at 125 Broadway, a 271,000-square-foot property fully leased to Biogen until 2028. Then, in the West, UCLA’s $583 million acquisition of One Westside in West Los Angeles ranked sixth. The 687,000-square-foot former retail space, once leased to Google, now supports UCLA’s research park vision.
But, Boston’s submarkets added more wins: Alexandria bought Arsenal on the Charles in Watertown’s Charles River Mill District for $525.5 million in 2019 (#7), and TPG acquired 101 South St. at Boynton Yards in the Medford-Malden submarket for $478.3 million in 2022 (#8). Returning to the west, in 2020, Ventas purchased the South San Francisco Genesis campus towers — the North Tower for $447.6 million (#9) and the South Tower for $423.6 million (#11).
Other notable deals included Sand Hill Property Company’s $380 million purchase of Stanford Research Park in Palo Alto, Calif., (#12) and Deerfield Capital Partners’ $344.5 million acquisition of The CURE in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park submarket (#14), showcasing the sector’s geographic diversity.
Methodology
For this report, we analyzed life sciences properties based on data sourced from CommercialEdge. The analysis covers properties classified under the primary use sub-type of “life sciences” with a minimum size of 25,000 square feet and completed between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2024. Properties completed in 2025 are categorized under the “under-construction” segment as they fall outside of the scope of this decade-long analysis.
Sales data reflects transactions that occurred from 2015 to 2024, excluding portfolio transactions, although individual sales within larger portfolio deals were included. If a property was sold multiple times during the period, all transactions were considered in the analysis.
The property and under-construction data was extracted on January 28, 2025, while sales data was gathered on January 21, 2025. Additionally, the office vacancy report was sourced from data as of September 1, 2024.