Scripps Confirms Marletta's Plan to Leave as President

The Scripps Research Institute has confirmed the departure of Michael Marletta as its president in a 72-word statement, but details about who will replace him and when are yet to emerge.

The move was announced this morning at a meeting at the 2,900-employee institute in La Jolla. Later, Scripps released its terse statement. Not mentioned were any proposals to deal with the financial plight of the renown biomedical research organization, which is the issue at the root of Marletta's resignation.

Bradley Fikes and Gary Robbins of the San Diego U-T have more details and background. Here is the Scripps statement, which is oddly worded, seeming to leave open the possibility of Marletta remaining at Scripps. Fikes and Robbins nonetheless report that four scientists at the morning meeting said Marletta is resigning.

"The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) Board of Trustees has announced that Dr. Michael Marletta has indicated his desire to leave TSRI and the Board is working with Dr. Marletta on a possible transition plan. Should Dr. Marletta depart TSRI, the Board will work to make any transition to new leadership the highest priority. Any such transition will engage all key constituencies in a dialogue about the future direction of this storied institution."

Scripps Research President Resigns Following Financial Problems at the Institute

Michael Marletta today resigned as head of The Scripps Research Institute, one of nation’s leading biomedical research organizations, in the wake of an aborted, $600 million merger with the University of Southern California.

Bradley Fikes and Gary Robbins of the San Diego U-T reported that the announcement of his resignation came at a meeting this morning at the La Jolla facility. They wrote that no successor has been named.

Marletta joined Scripps in January 2012. His resignation came in the wake of financial problems at the institute, which is operating this year under a $21 million deficit. Leading members of the faculty called for his removal after the proposed merger came to light. 

Scripps has not yet made a formal announcement on its Web Site. 

Scripps-USC Deal is Dead; Cash Problems Remain

The $600 million merger of The Scripps Research Institute with the University of Southern California has been quietly put to rest, but the issues behind it – money, money and money -- are still very much alive.

Scripps announced the termination of the proposed deal yesterday in a three-paragraph statement. Bradley Fikes and Gary Robbins of the San Diego U-T, who have been on this story like a dog on a bone, wrote,

“James Paulson, who chairs the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, praised the decision in an email to U-T San Diego.

“'This is a very positive step taken by the board and Dr. (Michael) Marletta(president of Scripps),’ Paulson wrote. ‘It clears the slate to look at all possible options to secure the future of TSRI, and will undoubtedly be welcomed by the faculty.’”

Faculty leaders had called for the removal of Marletta, declaring that they lack confidence in him. Scripps is running a $21 million deficit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. It also has come up short in philanthropic contributions while federal funding for research has shrunk.

UC San Diego earlier expressed an interest in some sort of arrangement with Scripps, which is reknown for its biomedical research. But little information has surfaced on whether that possibility has advanced. 

Disillusionment Cited by Scripps Researchers: No on Marletta and USC

Unhappy scientists at the Scripps Research Institute are trying to broaden support for ousting its president and avoiding a merger with USC. 

Scripps is suffering from financial difficulties, including a $21 million deficit in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Bradley Fikes and Gary Robbins reported in the San Diego U-T Saturday on the latest developments. They wrote,

“Chemist Donna Blackmond proposed in a Friday email that faculty who are members of the elite National Academies send the board a letter 'indicating no confidence in the leadership at Scripps.’ Such a move would show that the faculty’s disillusionment isn’t limited to a few allegedly rogue professors, she said.

“Blackmond added: ‘I can inform you that the 50+ women faculty are currently in the process of drafting such a letter.’”

The top faculty leaders have already called for the removal of Michael Marletta as president of Scripps, a job he assumed in January 2012. 

Scripps' Top Faculty Wants Marletta Removed as President

The turmoil at the highly regarded Scripps Research Institute today intensified as its top faculty called for the removal of its president, Michael Marletta, who is involved in an effort to merge the organization with the University of Southern California (USC).

The demand was reported today in the San Diego U-T by Bradley Fikes and Gary Robbins. They wrote that the faculty leaders “have lost confidence” in Marletta, who assumed his position in January 2102.  

 Scripps is running a $21 million deficit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Grants for biomedical research are tight and donations to Scripps are not meeting the institute’s long-term needs. Scripps derives more than 86 percent of its funding from the NIH, which is under stringent federal budget constraints.  The negotiations with USC are now in a “deep freeze,”  Fikes and Robbins reported yesterday.

 The faculty made the call for his removal in an email last night to Scripps Board Chairman Richard Gephardt, the former majority leader of the House of Representatives and now a Washington lobbyist.  He told Fikes and Robbins in an email today that the board understands a “variety of perspectives” exist concerning the future of Scripps. The San Diego newspaper did not immediately carry a response from Marletta.

Peter Farrell, another Scripps board member and executive chairman of ResMed, did not welcome the call for Marletta’s removal. He told the San Diego U-T,

 “If you’re on the board, you say, ‘Who’s running this ship, guys? You can make suggestions, but you cannot demand action. In other words, the board’s being told what it’s got to do, and if you don’t do this, we’re going to take our bat and ball and go home.”

Fikes and Robbins wrote,

“Farrell expressed sympathy for the faculty, but said Marletta is working with the best interests of Scripps Research at heart.”

In an online comment on the U-T Web site, Jeanne Loring, director of the Scripps Center for Regenerative Medicine,  said,

"Why would a board member of an organization 'feel sorry' for a group that brings in 86 percent of the funding for that organization? That makes no sense. Is he suggesting that we take our money elsewhere?"

Regarding Loring's comment concerning funding, for those unfamiliar with the way many nonprofit research organizations operate, it is on the same principle as a beauty parlor. In a beauty parlor, a beautician rents a chair and shares his/her income with the owner of the business. If the beautician’s income drops off, he or she is out the door. Likewise, scientists receive space and support at facilities like Scripps. Their obligation is to keep the grant money rolling in the door. The research organization then takes a healthy cut.

Fikes and Robbins wrote that Scripps has been a pillar of “biomedical brain power.”  But they said the scientific achievement has not been matched by fundraising since Marletta was named as president.  They wrote,

“During that time, Salk and Sanford-Burnham (both located near Scripps) have raised great sums of money. In January alone, Sanford-Burnham received an anonymous $275 million donation in January, to be given over 10 years.

“During the last couple of years, the Salk Institute has raised $275 million in a capital campaign, although Salk has far fewer faculty than does Scripps Research.”

Scripps has declined to disclose its fundraising figures, the U-T reported.

So far the Scripps-USC negotiations and turmoil have attracted little attention in the scientific media. However, that is likely to change this month in the wake of the increasing turbulence. 

Scripps-USC Update: $21 Million Scripps Deficit, Talks at Standstill

The San Diego U-T today reported that The Scripps Research Institute is running a $21 million annual deficit, a key reason that it is discussing a partnership with USC although those talks have apparently hit a wall.

“Deep freeze” is the term quoted by Bradley Fikes and Gary Robbins in their latest article concerning a possible hookup between the two institutions.

Michael Marletta
Scripps photo

Robbins and Fikes quoted from the minutes of a meeting Monday involving a handful of faculty and administrators at Scripps, which is located in La Jolla, Ca.. They also carried remarks from an email today from Michael Marletta, who became president of Scripps in 2011.  Marletta said,

"The institute has on hand enough funds to continue operating with no changes in its operations and without disposing of any real estate or other property for the foreseeable future. We are, however, being proactive about the future economic environment with a process in place and commitment to addressing the operating deficit — this financial picture would be the envy of many biomedical institutes."

Marletta continued,

"The market forces affecting The Scripps Research Institute are being felt by all independent biomedical research institutes, universities and medical schools across the country. Specifically, these include declines in National Institutes of Health funding and a downturn in basic research support from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries."

USC, which is located in Los Angeles, has sent a nonbinding letter to Scripps stating that it would pay $600 million over a 40 year period to take over Scripps. Fikes and Robbins wrote,

“USC is trying to improve its modest standing in chemistry and biology, areas where Scripps Research is a world leader.”

The Fikes-Robbins story carries the full text of two Q&A email exchanges between Marletta, Scripps and the two reporters.  At one point, Marletta said,

“We are in no danger of financial collapse. If we did nothing we would likely reach a tenuous point in about five years. However, doing nothing is not an option and not our plan. There are both short-term and long-term options to consider that will keep Scripps and its outstanding scientific programs here for a very long time.”

The text of the minutes of Monday’s meeting is also carried on the San Diego U-T site. The meeting was of a group of faculty and administrators recently formed to improve communications about Scripps’ status and to build support for changes.

Richard Gephardt
Gephardt Government Affairs photo

The group is chaired by Richard Gephardt, the former House majority leader who twice unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president. He now runs a Washington lobbying firm bearing his name and is chairman of the Scripps board.

Wikipedia reports,

“Gephardt has also been significantly involved with the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to a large lobbying contract with the Medicines Company,^[30] Gephardt serves as chair of the Council for American Medical Innovation (CAMI), formed by and affiliated with PhRMA. In this capacity he hired his own firm to lobby for the organization, to push to extend patents and block generic drugs from the market.^[31]”