A Pioneering Presence
Novartis first established its presence in San Diego in 1999 with the founding of the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, a center dedicated to advancing genomic science and accelerating innovation in drug discovery. Work conducted here included cutting-edge mechanistic research in numerous disease areas, pioneering target discovery and structural genomics efforts, and the development of state-of-the-art automation technology that helped enable high-throughput biology studies by Novartis and the broader research community.
As Novartis expanded its US footprint over the years, the site officially joined the Biomedical Research organization at Novartis. This further integrated San Diego-based scientists into the company’s dynamic, global biomedical research community, fostering even greater collaboration and supporting their innovative work across numerous therapeutic areas, including neuroscience, oncology, global health, and much more.
Through strategic acquisitions of biotechnology companies with a San Diego presence, including Avexis, DTx Pharma, Kate Therapeutics, and Regulus Therapeutics, Novartis continued expanding its footprint and talent base in San Diego, advancing exciting preclinical and clinical research programs, strengthening its pipeline, and bolstering expertise in core strategic therapeutic modalities such as gene therapy and xRNA.