Scripps Research Institute Appoints Scott Forrest as Director of Business and Technology Development

LA JOLLA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
The Scripps Research Institute has appointed Scott Forrest, formerly of the
University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, as the institute`s new director
of business and technology development.

"Scott is one of the best life sciences business development professionals that
I have ever worked with," said Mark Crowell, vice president for business
development at Scripps Research, who also worked with Forrest at UNC. "He has an
incredible technical background and an absolutely spot-on entrepreneurial and
business sense. His ability to work with researchers at Scripps and with our
corporate and venture capital partners will lead to solid business deals that
get our technology out, generate appropriate returns for the institute, and help
our partners achieve their business goals. We are extremely lucky to have him."

Forrest added, "I am delighted to join The Scripps Research Institute. The
institute`s tremendous faculty, innovative research, and strategic locations in
California and Florida speak to a huge potential for creating value. I look
forward to taking a proactive approach to interacting with faculty, launching
new start up companies, and reaching out to current and future business
partners."

At Scripps Research, Forrest, 32, has started his position overseeing the Office
of Technology Development and its staff of eight people, located on the La
Jolla, California campus. The mission of the group is to expedite the transfer
of discoveries and inventions made on both Scripps Research campuses for the
public benefit. This involves promoting technology transfer via licensing and
other business transactions, obtaining legal protection of research results, and
helping the institute comply with requirements of research sponsors, including
the U.S. government.

Forrest, who grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, earned a B.S. in Biochemistry
from the University of Calgary, Canada, in 1999, and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology
from the University of Virginia in 2004.

During his doctoral work, Forrest worked at the University of Virginia Patent
Foundation from 2003 to 2004. He then moved to the UNC Chapel Hill Office of
Technology Development, first as an associate, then as assistant director. While
in this position, his many complex and high profile transactions included patent
license agreements, sponsored research agreements, and startup company launches,
including business plan development and fundraising for the new ventures. During
this time, he also held an adjunct faculty position at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Forrest enjoys camping, going to the beach, and lifting weights. He lives with
his wife, Claire.

Forrest can be reached at (858) 784-9388 or sforrest@scripps.edu.

Image: http://www.scripps.edu/news/press/images/20090706Forrest/forrest.jpg

About The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute is one of the world's largest independent,
non-profit biomedical research organizations, at the forefront of basic
biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of
life. Scripps Research is internationally recognized for its discoveries in
immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences,
autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, and synthetic vaccine
development. Established in its current configuration in 1961, it employs
approximately 3,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, scientific and other
technicians, doctoral degree graduate students, and administrative and technical
support personnel. Scripps Research is headquartered in La Jolla, California
with a second campus located in Jupiter, Florida. Research at Scripps Florida
focuses on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development.

The Scripps Research Institute
Keith McKeown, 858-784-8134
kmckeown@scripps.edu

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