Pfizer Leases Space at San Diego Campus for Cancer-Drug Push

Nacha Cattan and John Gittelsohn

Pfizer Inc.’s oncology division is taking space at a newly built life-sciences complex in San Diego, as the pharma giant redefines itself as a cancer-drug powerhouse.

The company agreed to a 15-year lease for 230,000 square feet (21,400 square meters) at the property, called Torrey View, according to a statement Friday by developer Breakthrough Properties. Pfizer will occupy two research and development buildings at the 10-acre (4-hectare) campus, which is nearing completion.

The statement didn’t disclose financial terms of the lease. Based on data from CBRE Group Inc. on average asking rents in the area, the total for the 15-year deal would be about $290 million.

A representative for Pfizer declined to comment. At a conference last month, an executive said the company recently decided to move to a new facility in San Diego near its current site.

Pfizer fused its oncology efforts with Seagen Inc. after purchasing the company for $43 billion last year. Pfizer is looking to use Seagen’s targeted cancer drugs to help restore its leadership position in the pharma industry after the rapid decline of its Covid business led to a miserable 2023.

The Pfizer lease is more than double the size of any life-science deal in the San Diego area in 2023, when the largest single tenant was Acon taking 97,162 square feet, CBRE reported.

San Diego is one of the largest centers for life-science research, after Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area. Demand for offices slowed in 2023 as venture capital funding decreased, according to CBRE.

Torrey View is being developed by Breakthrough — a joint venture of real estate company Tishman Speyer and biotech investment firm Bellco Capital - in partnership with Mitsui Fudosan America, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and AP2. The three- building complex is now fully pre-leased. Other tenants include a division of Becton, Dickinson & Co.

The property offers “high-quality lab infrastructure” along with a 400- person conference facility, ocean views and campus amenities such as a fitness center and pickleball court, according to the statement.

“Breakthrough is proud to support the Pfizer Oncology team as they continue to discover and develop next-generation therapies,” Dan Belldegrun, Breakthrough’s chief executive officer, said in the statement. “Torrey View is an ideal campus for innovation.”