April 23, 2024, Patrick Sisson, Bisnow National - One of the life sciences real estate’s biggest players sees a clear road to recovery, predicting that momentum, in the form of the increased investment dollars seen in early 2024, will hit its stride as the current glut of new supply tapers off in 2025.
During Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ first quarter earnings call, Chairman Joel Marcus cited “positive signs of rebound” in investment and financing for biotech, as well as strong performance from the REIT, which saw total revenues grow 9.7% to $769M.
Investments in the sector showed strength not seen since the high point of 2021. Nearly $11B in venture capital deployment in biotech was announced in Q1 2024, according to a sector overview from Alexandria Senior Vice President of Science and Technology Hallie Kuhn, who said increased investment was a “robust sign of the health of the industry.”
In the first quarter, there were 34 venture capital mega rounds that raised $100M or more, the highest number since 2021, and $40B in announced merger and acquisition deals, a substantial sum continuing the strong, record-setting M&A pace of 2023. Follow-on capital totaled $15.5B for the quarter, 25% of which flowed to ARE tenants.
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