Greg Bisconti

Chicago, IL—The investment and employment levels in the life sciences sector of commercial real estate has significantly risen according to Cushman & Wakefield's new report, Life Science: Great Promise & Rapid Growth. With the rapid influx of venture capital as well as billions of dollars in funding from the National Institute of Health, the life sciences sector has grown nearly five times as fast as the economy since 2000, adding 85,000 jobs, with roughly 70% of that job growth in the past eight years.

A significant driver of this growth is an aging population with increased longevity. By 2030, there will be 73 million Americans aged 65 or older, equating to 20.6% of the population, compared with 40.5 million Americas in this cohort in 2010. Demand for health services will continue to soar as the population ages and the technology enabling life science will continue to lead to a greater supply of new products, which in turn results in historically high investments in this sector.

“Life sciences is generally the industry that includes pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, agbio (food), biofuel and biochemicals (fuel and industrial chemicals via biological processes). As evidenced by Elon Musk and others, there will be another very complicated and converging era wherein tech and biology are merged to enhance human (and animal) mental and physical capabilities and function,” says Greg Bisconti, Executive Director and leader for the Americas Life Sciences Practice Group, Cushman & Wakefield.