Scripps Research

The investment office reports through the Chief Financial Officer, currently Executive Vice President and CFO Jamie Williamson. Day-to-day portfolio management and manager selection is led by Vice President of Investments Matthew Tremblay. The Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees oversees asset allocation policy, with several trustees possessing deep scientific and financial backgrounds.

Royalty income from drug patents — most notably the antibody technology underlying Humira — has historically provided a substantial recurring revenue stream that funds both research operations and endowment corpus contributions. Humira became the highest-grossing pharmaceutical product globally, generating billions in cumulative royalties before its US patent expiry in 2023. This cash-flow structure is highly unusual among nonprofit research institutes and places Scripps in a capital position closer to a well-endowed foundation.

Scripps Research employs both direct venture investments and fund commitments, primarily within the life sciences and biotechnology sectors. The endowment has historically allocated the majority of its venture exposure through external fund managers — typically established biotech venture firms — while selectively making direct investments in companies where the institute has deep scientific familiarity or technology transfer relationships.

The endowment is a distinct financial entity within the 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, overseen by a Board of Trustees and an Investment Committee. The research-side operations, grant revenue, and royalty income streams are managed by the institute's executive leadership, while the investment office focuses on the long-term portfolio. This separation maintains the endowment's intergenerational purpose — funding scientific programs in perpetuity — independent of short-term grant cycles.

The endowment maintains a meaningful allocation to real assets, including direct real estate holdings on both the La Jolla and Jupiter campuses. In the portfolio context, this includes commercial real estate equity, infrastructure, and natural resources, accessed primarily through fund commitments. The real assets sleeve has grown over the past decade as the institution diversified beyond its historically concentrated biotech equity and venture exposure.