Oversupply and weakening demand in the life sciences sector has prompted some developers to market their planned properties as office space, according to a life sciences update by Savills.

"Developer confidence in the market has diminished significantly, resulting in the sale of underperforming new developments," Savills said. The firm pointed to KKR & Co's sale of its vacant 213,232-square-foot life sciences property in Seattle as a notable example. The property was delivered during the first quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, venture capital funding has increased in the sector compared with last year despite fewer completed deals this year. Savills said this signals that the deals that are being made are more significant. Nearly 2,900 VC deals were closed by the third quarter of this year, compared with nearly 3,300 completed between Q1 and Q3 2023, according to the report. The largest funding in 2024 went to Xaira Therapeutics, which secured $1 billion in Series A funding for AI-generated drug discovery.