Few things have had as much of an impact during our lifetimes than COVID-19. This global pandemic affected people’s health, the economy, jobs, and even commercial real estate. Additionally, COVID transformed life sciences real estate in novel ways that provide stakeholders with more opportunities for growth and development. Sunridge Legal understands how commercial real estate has changed substantially in the past few years. To learn how we can help you with your life science commercial real estate needs, contact our experienced attorneys at Sunridge Legal today at [email protected].
Greater Investment
In light of a global pandemic, many governments invested trillions of dollars into response efforts. Many of these efforts included financial investments into life science companies. These companies received substantial funds for research, development, and manufacturing of vaccines and test kits. Additionally, more medical offices, drive-through testing sites, and temporary hospitals were erected in response to the pandemic. This increased investment will continue during the current administration with the White House reporting that President Joe Biden is requesting billions of dollars to go to the top health organizations as part of the 2023 budget. In addition to public sector funding, the private sector also invested more money into the life sciences industry.
Greater Demand
With more money flooding into the life sciences industry, there has been an increased demand for commercial real estate to meet the needs of life sciences companies. In fact, more than 31 million square feet of life sciences space was under development in the last three months of 2021 alone. This increased demand continued a trend in the life sciences sector that began well before the pandemic.
Some of the increased demand for commercial real estate is for the creation or repurposing of building for lab space. Innovative developers have embraced this increased demand and transformed some of their existing structures to better meet the needs of life sciences companies.
More Collaboration and Fewer Regulatory Restrictions
The pandemic put many previously competing businesses in a shared mission toward a mutual goal. Companies worked together alongside industry leaders and research universities. They rushed to find a cure for the disease, develop vaccines, get approval for drugs, and develop other innovations. Several large pharmaceutical companies formed a group to share knowledge and resources during the pandemic.
Even governments have collaborated together. The National Institutes of Health and its Foundation established the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines program to develop an international strategy to respond to the pandemic. This sharing initiative has resulted in a softening of regulatory frameworks that stood in the way of rapid development. Governments declared health emergencies, which allowed for emergency protocols to be deployed. Regulators collaborated with companies behind the latest innovations and found ways to streamline the approval process. Changes included relaxing clinical trial application provisions so that developments could be administered more quickly. This shift may permanently change how clinical trials are carried out and advances are made in the life sciences industry in the future, which can influence how these companies use real estate.
Increasing Space
Another important way that COVID-19 has changed the life sciences workspace is the need for greater physical space and division. Many companies that had large staff numbers used cubicles to divide workers. However, this is not a suitable option post-pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people stay six feet away from each other in many situations. With vaccines not totally effective at preventing transmission of the disease, many life science companies must consider other safety measures like social distancing to protect their workforce.
A possible solution to this is to increase the physical space that workers use so that they are not too close to each other. Additionally, creating separate rooms within certain business spaces may be necessary in order to prevent transmission from one department to the next, which may require life science companies to add onto their existing commercial spaces.
Reimagining Space
The COVID-19 crisis has also accelerated the reimagining of space in the life sciences industry. Some of the major changes include:
- An increased rate of telehealth services and delivery models
- More patient centric methods of delivering healthcare
- Greater digital interactions and reliance on electronic health monitors
- More health workers working from home, coworking spaces, or other locations
In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, important steps were taken to revitalize the health services industry. Research and development teams pivoted to prioritize research. Logistics were put in place to provide clinical supply continuity. Temporary hospitals and testing sites were built. Spaces were repurposed to provide temporary housing for healthcare workers. Life science companies were highly agile in how they responded to the crisis and served as an influencer for other industries.
Some of the changes that started at the beginning of the pandemic may forever change how these companies work in the future. For example, more workers are working remotely now than they were before the pandemic. A lot of patients now use telehealth, much more than they did before the pandemic. In-home nurse visits, digital tools for remote monitoring, and other advances may become the new normal.
Doctors’ offices and similar health care vehicles may remove waiting space to avoid patient-to-patient exposure. Additionally, they may decrease the number of exam rooms while increasing the number of rooms that are suitable for telehealth visits.
How a Commercial Real Estate Lawyer Can Help
The changes discussed above are just a few of the ways that COVID has transformed life sciences real estate. The commercial real estate lawyers at Sunridge Legal have experience helping life science companies, real estate developers, and commercial landlords. We can anticipate your needs, conduct thorough due diligence, negotiate lease terms that protect your interests, and guide you through your commercial real estate transactions. We provide a confidential consultation to discuss your unique needs.
Contact Sunridge Legal for Guidance with Your Next Commercial Real Estate Transaction
COVID transformed life sciences real estate, just as it has had a strong impact on many other aspects of our lives. If you would like to learn more about how you can take advantage of recent changes in the life sciences space, consider contacting our experienced commercial real estate attorneys at Sunridge Legal today at [email protected].
