SF Bay Area

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Senti Biosciences Expands Manufacturing Capacity in the East Bay

 By David Gross

South San Francisco-based CAR-NK developer Senti Biosciences has signed a 92,000 sq. ft. lease for cGMP manufacturing facilities the East Bay.  While the site at 1430 Harbor Bay Parkway has an Alameda address, it sits right next to Oakland Airport property.  Senti is leasing the site from Invesco, which bought the building in June for $307 per foot.

Senti will use the facility to manufacture two allogenic CAR-NK drug candidates, both of which have yet to enter clinical trials.  Due to the sensitivity and immaturity of CAR-NK drugs, especially compared to CAR-T, Senti does not want to outsource production to a CDMO.   Additionally, CARs in general require much more manufacturing space than standard in vivo therapies which are often produced in much smaller manufacturing environments.

The neighborhood next to Oakland airport has nearly a million square feet of flex and industrial space, and other life sciences tenants including Abbott Labs and Fluxion Biosciences.

Monday, July 26, 2021

Nkarta Leases 88,000 Sq Ft in South SF for $77 per Foot, Escalating to over $110.

By David Gross

Nkarta, a developer a Natural Killer (NK) cells for cancer therapies has leased 88,106 square feet in South San Francisco with an initial rent of $76.80 per square foot.   The 12 year term includes 3% annual escalators that will bring base rent to approximately $111 per square feet in the final year of the lease.

The landlord, Healthpeak Properties, is including a net TIA, or Tenant Improvement Allowance, of $236 per square foot to cover the buildout of the space, which will include 2,700 square feet of cGMP manufacturing space.   Rates in South City continue to outpace rates in the "City" of San Francisco where a flood of sublease space is available around Mission Bay, and tenant concerns about Prop C taxes.