CHICAGO, July 11, 2022 – As life sciences employment grows in both major and emerging life sciences markets, advancements in innovation are accelerating across the United States. Yet real estate development occurs on a much slower timeline and finding space appropriately equipped for large-scale research, development and production is crucial to success. This year, the Cell & Gene Therapy (CGT) industry is set to have its highest annual number of regulatory approvals of new gene therapy and gene-modified cell therapy products, meaning a limited space supply could pose speed to market challenges.

“This seismic transformation in the underlying fundamentals of biomanufacturing real estate is having a direct impact on the availability of space, as well as its design, architecture, engineering and financing,” said Roger Humphrey, President, JLL Life Sciences. 

Cell therapy generally involves removing, modifying, then reintroducing modified live cells into a patient, whereas gene therapy involves altering or replacing faulty genes within a patient’s cells, in both cases with the common goal of specifically targeting and treating/curing a certain disease. Unlike small molecule drugs which are derived by chemical synthesis and have historically been the dominant way of making pharmaceutical drugs, CGT produces “living drugs,” leveraging the human body’s own biological processes to fight or even cure disease. While CGT is creating enormous positive health implications for patients, as a field it also fundamentally changes the talent, regulatory, and infrastructure framework necessary to bring drugs to market, particularly when it comes to manufacturing.