A growing seniors population and increasing prevalence of high-cost diseases like diabetes has generated a surge in funding for healthcare research in recent years and, along with it, demand for life science-biotech lab space.
But the biggest impact on demand for wet lab space has resulted from mapping of the complete human genome and subsequent advances in biotechnology, according to Ian Anderson, director of research and analysis with real estate services firm CBRE. Anderson notes that the price for sequencing a human genome has dropped from $100,000 to just $1,000, resulting in massive expansion in DNA research and development of new biotech tools, like the CRISPR gene editing system.
