Cancer treatment company Circle Pharma landed a new 50K SF space in South San Francisco.

Circle outgrew its previous home at Lilly Gateway Labs, and its lease was nearing its expiration. The incubator space there was intended for companies of 20 or fewer employees. Circle Pharma Inc. had expanded to 60 employees.

The transaction is notable in an unstable time for the life sciences real estate sector. A glut of new supply is up against demand challenges recently fueled by major cuts to federal research and development funding, along with layoffs and other economic challenges.

Eikon Therapeutics and CytomX Therapeutics are among the many companies that have announced layoffs since the beginning of the year.

23andMe, the troubled genetic testing company, in May closed its downtown San Francisco office after filing for bankruptcy.

Drug manufacturer Genentech announced it would close its South San Francisco production facility and lay off 265 workers.

South San Francisco, the largest life sciences submarket in the Bay Area, had a vacancy rate of 30% in the first quarter and net negative absorption of 99K SF, according to Cresa.

The Bay Area at large notched more lease transactions to start the year than in Q4, increasing from 10 deals to 24. Subleases and renewals have dominated deal flow so far in 2025.

Circle’s 50K SF lease dwarfed other notable transactions, which included Allogene Therapeutics' sublease of 23K SF to an unknown tenant and a 22K SF sublease to Structure Therapeutics.