Lab Tested, Lawyer Approved: Strategies For Life Science Leasing

It is a good time to be in the life sciences business—and therefore it is a good time to be in the business of leasing space to those in the life sciences business.

Significant inflows of capital have created increased demand for specialized lab space, especially in the regional hubs of San Diego, California, Raleigh, North Carolina and Boston, Massachusetts. Many landlords in this space are specialized with purpose-built facilities; however, the lower vacancy rates and generally higher rents available in this segment of the market have spurred other commercial property owners to convert generic office space into labs. Biotech leases, unlike other classes of commercial leasing, cannot be "rinse and repeat" given the unique nature of each tenant's business and, crucially, because in many ways these leases represent partnerships between landlord and tenant and not contests of leverage on every point. Therefore, it is important for market participants, whether