On Oct. 9, 2003, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) announced the establishment of a major science center in Palm Beach County, Florida, focusing on biomedical research, technology development and drug design, funded by the State of Florida via economic development funds as well as local government.

The expansion is expected to boost Florida’s economic development in biotechnology, just as the Scripps campus in La Jolla has served as the seeding ground and economic stimulus for the burgeoning bioscience industries in Southern California. Approximately 40 companies have grown out of Scripps research and technology developments.

TSRI also collaborates with and supports local industry and businesses, the university system, and school districts in the region, as it has done in San Diego. Beginning in 2004, TSRI was expected to occupy temporary laboratory space while it constructs a state-of-the-art, 364,000-square-foot facility on 100 acres to be occupied in 2006.