Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. Hosts Alexandria Summit™ on Medical Research Philanthropy at Alexandria Center™ for Life Science in New York City

NEW YORK, Feb. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), the largest and leading owner, operator, and developer of high-quality, sustainable real estate for the broad and diverse life science industry, will hold the Alexandria Summit – Medical Research Philanthropy today at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in New York City. The Alexandria Summit – Medical Research Philanthropy will bring together senior thought leaders from academic medical research centers, foundations/non-profits, government, industry, venture capital, patients, and patient advocacy groups in a unique and highly interactive forum to collectively explore how to most effectively and strategically leverage the vital growing influence of medical research philanthropy in drug discovery, development, and commercialization. Similar to previous Alexandria Summits, Alexandria believes that by bringing together the unparalleled intellectual capital of its longstanding and diverse life science network, it will help advance the translation of novel, breakthrough discoveries that will save lives, manage disease, and importantly, reduce the economic burden of disease on society.  The life science industry's breakthrough products represent the real solution to decreasing the negative economic impact of disease to society.  Alexandria's leadership as the founder and organizer of the Alexandria Summit further demonstrates the Company's longstanding position as a trusted and collaborative partner to the life science ecosystem.

In recent years, medical research philanthropy has emerged as a leading and dynamic positive force in drug discovery and development. The breadth and depth of its impact – from funding and de-risking investments, to scientific expertise, to patient recruitment and advocacy – uniquely positions medical research philanthropy as a truly transformative and increasingly critical player in the drug discovery and development continuum. Today, esteemed guests at the Alexandria Summit, including Deborah W. Brooks, MBA (Co-Founder and Executive Vice Chairman of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research), Kathryn E. Giusti, MBA (Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation), Mark Levin (Partner at Third Rock Ventures, LLC), Husseini K. Manji, MD, FRCPC (Global Therapeutic Area Head of Neuroscience at Janssen Research & Development, LLC), Luca Santarelli, MD (Senior Vice President, Head of Neuroscience and Small Molecule Research at F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.), Ellen V. Sigal, PhD (Chairperson and Founder of Friends of Cancer Research), Craig B. Thompson, MD (President and Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center), David Axelrod (Former Senior Advisor to President Obama), and Susan Axelrod, MBA (Founder and Chair of Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy), will come together in a groundbreaking collaborative platform to advance the promise for innovation offered by medical research philanthropy.

In conjunction with the Alexandria Summit – Medical Research Philanthropy, Alexandria is pleased to provide a comprehensive update on its meaningful corporate responsibility achievements in 2012. Each year, the Alexandria team dedicates time, effort, and resources to the following strategic areas:

• Life Science: Enabling our client tenants and longstanding network to translate promising discoveries into safe and effective therapies and technologies that will address the most critical global healthcare challenges and ensure that the right drugs reach patients who need them most in a timely manner;
• Corporate Giving: Supporting leading non-profit organizations in the areas of scientific research and development, local community support, military service support groups, science education, and opportunistic giving;
• Sustainability: Improving the workplace environment and reducing our environmental footprint through sustainable, efficient building design and operations; and
• Volunteerism: Serving our cluster communities through employee volunteer programs, company-sponsored volunteering activities, and annual charity drives. 

2012 was an unparalleled year of corporate giving for Alexandria. Alexandria made meaningful contributions to a selection of world-class non-profit organizations including Autism Speaks, Boston Children's Hospital, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Friends of Cancer Research, JDRF, Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, Seattle Children's Hospital, and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Alexandria also made a number of significant donations to military service support groups including the Central Intelligence Agency Officers Memorial Foundation, Navy SEAL Foundation, Wounded Explosive Ordnance Disposal Warrior Foundation, and Wounded Warrior Project, to assist the important, unmet needs of the men, women, and families who serve our nation. In 2012, 59% of Alexandria's donations went to scientific research and development, 21% to local community support, 18% to military service support, 1% to science education, and 1% to opportunistic events.

"Since Alexandria was founded in 1994, we have always strived to make good citizenship integral to our mission," said Joel S. Marcus, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder of Alexandria. "By enabling scientific breakthroughs through the provision of our world-class facilities and services, and by supporting leading non-profit organizations in our clusters,  protecting the environment and its natural resources, and helping those who faithfully serve our country, we work every day to make a positive impact in our communities."

In 2012, Alexandria continued to advance its real estate sustainability platform. To date, Alexandria has 16 LEED^® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifications encompassing approximately 2.5 million rentable square feet, with another 24 LEED certifications in process totaling approximately 4.2 million rentable square feet. Upon completion of these projects, approximately 47% of Alexandria's operating portfolio will be certified.

Beyond LEED certifications, Alexandria seeks to advance the resource efficiency and environmental ecosystem of its facilities to produce the most collaborative, innovative, productive and sustainable work environments for its client tenants. In 2012, Alexandria engaged third party consultants to conduct facility energy benchmarking and audits of its sustainability operations to help enhance its facilities and best practices for laboratory space management. Other initiatives include the implementation of energy optimization projects, ecofriendly transportation amenities, onsite healthy meal choices, fitness centers, and sustainable gardens.

One of Alexandria's newest, most sustainable campuses, ARE Nautilus in San Diego, recently won the Most Innovative Deal of the Year Award by the San Diego Business Journal. ARE Nautilus is a highly sustainable facility designed to achieve LEED Gold Core and Shell certification. Some of ARE Nautilus' sustainable features include two facilities projected to perform approximately 15% better than the national standard for energy efficiency; high-efficiency glazing and lighting systems, and a "cool roof" to reduce baseline energy consumption; significantly reduced water consumption both inside and outside of the buildings; a drought-tolerant plant palette in combination with a high-efficiency irrigation system that reduces water consumption outside the building by more than 50%; and fitness rooms and showering facilities providing client tenants with a place to refresh after walking or biking to work. Designed at the forefront of sustainability, collaboration, and innovation, ARE Nautilus is nearly fully leased to high-quality client tenants including Novartis AG, Sequenom, Inc., The Scripps Research Institute, and Verenium Corporation.

About Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), is the largest and leading investment-grade REIT focused principally on owning, operating, redeveloping, developing, and acquiring high-quality, sustainable real estate for the broad and diverse life science industry. Founded in 1994, Alexandria was the first REIT to identify and pursue a primary focus on the laboratory niche and has since had the first-mover advantage in every core life science cluster location including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego, New York City, Seattle, Suburban Washington, D.C., and Research Triangle Park. Alexandria's high-credit client tenants span the life science industry, including renowned academic medical research centers, multinational pharmaceutical companies, public and private biotechnology entities, U.S. government research agencies, medical device companies, industrial biotechnology companies, venture capitalists, and life science product and service companies. Forty-seven percent of Alexandria's total annualized base rent is from investment grade tenants. As the recognized real estate partner of the life science industry, Alexandria has a superior track record in driving client tenant productivity, collaboration, and innovation through its CBD locations adjacent to leading academic medical research centers, best-in-class laboratory/office space, unparalleled life science real estate expertise and services, and longstanding and expansive network in the life science community, which we believe result in higher occupancy levels, longer lease terms, higher rental income, higher returns, and greater long-term asset value. For more information, please visit www.are.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws.  Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.