HEALTH

Scripps Institute, Big Drug Maker Link Up: In one of the largest deals of its kind, giant Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. has agreed to give La Jolla-based Scripps Research Institute $300 million in return for right of first refusal to Scripps’ future medical discoveries. New Jersey-based Sandoz will provide the research funding over a 10-year period beginning in 1997. Scripps opted to license its research findings because, while it enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence in basic research, “we don’t know much about that (product development) process,” said William Beers, Scripps Research Institute senior vice president. Scripps Research Institute is allied with the Scripps Institution of Medicine and Science and the Scripps Institutions of Medicine and Science.