Novartis in San Diego: A Quarter Century of R&D Innovation

In April 2025, Novartis announced plans to invest $23 billion into its US-based infrastructure, including the creation of a premiere, state-of-the-art Biomedical Research hub in San Diego. The $1.1 billion investment will further support our researchers with world-class scientific infrastructure and drug discovery capabilities, and serve as a gateway for even greater collaborations with the thriving and dynamic California life sciences ecosystem.  

With a legacy that stretches back more than 25 years, we’re taking a look at milestones, research innovations, and clinical breakthroughs that can trace their roots back to Novartis in San Diego. 

How are we designing a research facility for the future? Click here for a Q&A with Thierry Diagana, California Sites Head and Head of Global Health for Biomedical Research, Novartis.

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.  

From Discovery to Patients 

Novartis San Diego researchers have played a pivotal role in translating scientific breakthroughs into life-changing medicines for patients around the world, directly contributing to six FDA-approved medicines across several indications in oncology and neuroscience with major unmet medical needs. Their work has also contributed to more than 30 Investigational New Drug applications and is driving multiple ongoing clinical-phase programs with the potential to advance new therapeutic options for patients in need. 

For decades, Novartis teams in San Diego have stood at the forefront of research technology innovation, particularly in automation. They developed some of the world’s first high-throughput protein expression and purification systems, phenotypic screening platforms, and other advanced technologies that have accelerated transcriptomics, small molecule and antibody discovery, and more.  

Collectively, their efforts have significantly accelerated the pace of therapeutic research and enabled transformative advancements in drug discovery and development. 

A Scientific Powerhouse 

Scientists at Novartis San Diego sites have not only pioneered innovations in drug discovery, but also made profound scientific contributions that have helped advance biomedical research efforts worldwide.  

They have served as lead or contributing authors on more than 1,150 peer-reviewed publications, providing groundbreaking insights into a wide spectrum of diseases. These include numerous types of cancer, metabolic disorders such as diabetes, global health challenges such as malaria and tuberculosis, and many other conditions.

Among these scientific contributions are seminal studies published in Science and Nature identifying and characterizing the roles of Piezo proteins, mechanosensitive ion channels responsible for sensations including temperature and touch. This work earned Ardem Patapoutian a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2021. Patapoutian, now at The Scripps Research Institute, launched and conducted much of this pivotal work while appointed at Novartis. 

As we look toward our bright future in San Diego, we’re excited to continue building on the decades of research innovation and drug discovery led by our California-based scientists. 

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