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Scripps: trouble behind, science ahead

The science chief speaks about the facility's bumpy ride so far in Florida and what he sees shaping up in the future.

By KRIS HUNDLEY
Published May 25, 2006

JUPITER - Harry Orf, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve's 804th Medical Brigade, was on a year's tour of duty in Iraq in 2004 when he got an e-mail from a headhunter. Scripps Research Institute was looking for a head of scientific operations at its new Florida campus. Would the Harvard chemist, who also ran research labs at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, be interested in applying?

He was, and shortly after returning from Iraq, where he oversaw health screening services for U.S. soldiers, Orf joined Scripps at its temporary location on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter. Now, nearly two years later, his office is still in a trailer, one of five that provide extra space for staff next to Scripps' 41,000-square-foot interim lab.

But things are looking up. This month, county officials finally approved land adjacent to FAU for the research facility's permanent campus. And Orf, 56, said that though site uncertainties have made the development of Scripps Florida more difficult, 170 researchers are already at work making discoveries in the Jupiter lab.

In a recent interview, Orf talked about Scripps Florida's accomplishments so far and its expectations.

Scripps' negotiations with Palm Beach County over a site lasted far longer than expected and became extremely fractious toward the end, with Scripps threatening to leave the area. How did your staff stay focused on science?

It wasn't so difficult early on, but it got to the point of annoyance, if you will. And in the last couple of go-rounds, it was fairly disconcerting because it looked for a while like we might not be able to come to an agreement with Palm Beach County. And about half our staff moved here from outside the area and we've put down roots.

What happens now?

We've got a second temporary lab of 33,000 square feet opening here at FAU in August. And by the end of the year we expect groundbreaking on three new buildings with a total of 350,000 square feet. They'll be built simultaneously and be ready for occupancy by the first quarter of 2009.

What attracted you to Scripps' new venture in Florida after more than 20 years with an established institution like Mass General?

Frankly, it was the excitement and opportunity to do something here which is not being done anywhere else on the globe in an academic setting.

We're going to combine basic biomedical research with cutting-edge technology and focus those two together on a drug-discovery platform. In the past, it has taken 12 years and $800-million to get a drug to market. And 80 percent of all drug candidates fail. If we can shorten that time line and if candidates have less likelihood of failure, that will impact the cost of drugs.

What is unique about Scripps' Florida operation?

We have automation here that doesn't exist elsewhere in an academic setting. We have a $10-million robot that has the ability to assay examine 1-million compounds in 24 hours. There are only five of these robots in existence: three in pharmaceutical companies, one at NIH (National Institutes for Health), and the newest version is here.

Having access to this technology makes our scientists think about fundamental research in a different way. If a researcher doing cell biology on cancer finds an interesting system that might be a biological target, they could quickly screen for it.

The sequencing of the human genome has provided us with a new approach to drug discovery. Now it starts with the patients. We can see their genetic makeup, find biotargets and test compounds against those targets. And since our robotic system opened in November, we've identified 10 potential targets.

What other benchmarks has Scripps Florida reached in the past two years?

We've announced a partnership with IBM for infectious disease. We've developed 30 peer-to-peer collaborations with other Florida investigators, including a collaboration with researchers at the Byrd Alzheimer's Center at USF.

We've signed master cooperating agreements with several Florida universities which get the legalese out of these scientific collaborations and lets the scientists talk. Most collaborations don't produce anything of commercial value, but this agreement says, "If there's a pie, we all get a piece."

We established a graduate program, with nine students, two years earlier than expected. And our internships and educational outreach programs are doing a lot more than expected. For instance, we offer Science Saturdays for local high school students, who isolate DNA and then do a CSI to figure out who stole the doughnut.

How's recruiting?

The first major wave was extremely successful. But the controversy last year forced us to put recruiting on hold. Now we're resuming serious discussions. I expect we'll have a staff of 210 a year from now, and we can cram a maximum of 270 to 280 people in our existing facilities. We've already got two full professors or six Ph.D.s sharing 120-square-foot offices.

Can you compare your present job with past positions?

At Mass General, I was running a department that I helped establish over 20 years ago. It was well-endowed and well-established. In Iraq, it was a very gruelling pace, but once operations were established, there was a routine. Here we have a brand new operation and you don't know where the next issue is going to come from. And they come from everywhere.

Do you have any concern about Scripps' ability to attract a cluster of other biotech businesses to Palm Beach County?

There are signs it's already happening. The largest real estate developer of spec lab space has already purchased land here.

Several blue-chip venture firms have expressed an interest in working with us and setting up operations here. And two research hospitals are already talking to the county. There have been no spinoffs (of businesses) from Scripps yet, but that's on the horizon.

Scripps received $359-million from the state and more than $200-million from Palm Beach County to fund a facility in Florida. How will taxpayers benefit?

We're positioned to do science in a way that will allow Florida to develop a bio-pharma economy. Plus the venture capital community is now turning its eyes to Florida to see what else is happening here. I think time will prove us to be a good investment.

Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com or (727) 892-2996.

Harry W. Orf

Title: Vice president for Scientific Operations, professor of chemistry, Scripps Florida

Previous position: Director, Molecular Biology Laboratories, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; associate in genetics, Harvard Medical School

Education: B.S. chemistry, University of Missouri-St. Louis; master's and doctoral degrees in chemistry, Harvard University; 1991 graduate of U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College

Age: 56

Personal: Married with two grown children and one preschooler

Proudest Achievement: In 1997, received the American Hero Award from the U.S. Department of Education and city of Boston for his work with Boston public schools

Quote: "If we want to maintain the U.S. as a leader in innovation, we have to get kids really excited about the potential impact bioscience will have on their lives and the terrific career opportunities in the field.''

[Last modified May 25, 2006, 05:54:39]