1. The in-flows of capital into life science companies grew strongly in 2021. The pandemic was a key influence on this, but also a realisation by the wider investment community that the credibility and opportunity of life science companies, of all scales, has increased. We expect the overall level to be lower in 2022, but there is still a significant amount of capital that will kick-start and grow life science companies in the next few years.
2. The UK is clearly a superpower in the global life science sector on many levels. The quality of academic and research institutes helps to drive this. The UK accounts for a significant proportion of the global life science R&D market, when considered relative to the size of the UK. However, the policy to drive a levelling-up agenda in the UK, to grow other parts of the country, and to complement the growth prospects in the South East and Eastern regions, is a very credible one.
3. In real estate terms, it is important to consider all types of real estate required to complete the life science 'supply chain'. Academia and start-up driving the R&D agenda is significant and something that tends to be measured and assessed. However, the production/manufacture of the 'fruits' of the R&D process must also be considered. The biomanufacturing sector is therefore interesting and important to consider.
4. Global markets must all be reviewed and considered at the same time. The US continues to account for the highest proportion of capital raised by life science companies. This will remain the case for many years. However, it is equally important to recognise the importance of global regions and, specifically countries, that will move up through the rankings. Overall, the total market is getting larger, and funding is growing, but the global distribution of this will change over time. Asia, and China in particular, will take an increasing share. This will create real estate opportunities in Asia, but also result in Asian-headquartered companies taking floorspace in their own countries and across the world.
5. Connectivity, in every sense, is critical for the life science sector. The close proximity or physically connected 'players' within the life science ecosystem is so important. This includes co-location but also the transport infrastructure to enable connectivity at national and international levels. However, during the past couple of decades, the cross-over of technology companies and life science companies has resulted in the growth of data collection, analysis and sharing. Therefore, in a real estate context, the capability and resilience of the IT infrastructure has become increasingly important, and this will even more so as the 'big data' aspects of the life science sector becomes the key aspect of R&D.

_{Read the articles within Spotlight: Life Sciences – Trends & Outlook below.}