The explosive growth of the global life sciences sector and thereal property needs it entails have captured the attention ofcommercial real estate investors of all stripes. According toCBRE's US Real Estate Market Outlook 2020, from 2014-2019, lifesciences real estate (inclusive of medical office), accounted foran annual average investment of $18.7 billion—an astounding figure.Now, the tragic outbreak of COVID-19 has transformed thisburgeoning real estate asset class from one of excitement, to oneof existential importance.

As medical professionals, public health experts, and governmentofficials grapple with the duration and magnitude of the pandemic,a key takeaway has emerged: namely, the centrality of commercialreal estate—and in particular, life sciences real estate—inaddressing the crisis. Although COVID-19 has certainly disruptedthe real estate world, it has also, paradoxically, generated anovel opportunity for the industry and its evolution. Withcreativity and adaptability, commercial real estate investors aresituated to simultaneously maximize the utility and value of realproperty while contributing to the best-case resolution of anextraordinary societal challenge.