IQHQ, a life sciences REIT, has raised $1.7 billion in a funding round of new equity to support expansion of the company’s growing portfolio of properties in premier life sciences markets including Boston, San Francisco and San Diego. The life sciences sector has attracted interest amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a resilient real estate investment segment.

IQHQ received investments from a number of real estate investment firms. CenterSquare Investment Management has made a $158 million equity investment in IQHQ, and Madison International Realty has invested $100 million, with an option to invest an incremental $100 million, in IQHQ.

IQHQ will use the funds to pursue its development pipeline that includes an anticipated 4.4 million square feet of cutting-edge projects. A sample of some of IQHQ’s development projects include Fenway Center in Boston, the Research and Development District in San Diego, and South City Station in South San Francisco.

“The rapidly