About Rory Riggs
Rory Riggs is an inventor, executive, and investor who applies one system, the Locus Model, across biotechnology, finance, and economics.
Mr. Riggs is Executive Chairman of Syntax Data, which has built a foundational coordinate-based information infrastructure for finance and economic data based on his patented Locus Model and Functional Information System (FIS). As Chairman and founder of Royalty Pharma, he helped create the pharmaceutical royalty asset class.
He was also a founder or early-stage investor in SUGEN, BioMatrix, FibroGen, Cibus, and Intra-Cellular Therapies, and served as a director of each. He was previously a Managing Director at PaineWebber and CEO of RF&P, a real estate investment company owned by the Virginia State Retirement System.
He is a director of the Feinstein Institute, the research arm of Northwell, and of the New York Genome Center. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and Columbia University.
Board and governance record
Current
- Syntax Data — Executive Chairman and Founder
- Cibus Inc. (CBUS) — Chairman of the Board
- Scientia Ventures LLC — General Partner and Co-Founder
- New York Genome Center — Director
- Feinstein Institute (the research arm of Northwell) — Director
- WEBs ETF Trust — CEO and Trustee, since 2017
Former
- Royalty Pharma plc (RPRX) — Founder, 1996; Chairman, 2003–2024
- Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. (ITCI) — Director, 2014–2025
- FibroGen Inc. (FGEN) — Co-Founder and Director, since October 1993
- SUGEN Inc. — Founder or Early-Stage Investor, and Director
- BioMatrix — Founder or Early-Stage Investor, and Director
- PaineWebber — Managing Director
- RF&P — Chief Executive Officer (real estate investment company owned by the Virginia State Retirement System)
Founding history
Across thirty years, the pattern repeats: identify a domain where the right system does not yet exist, then build it. Royalty Pharma (1996) built the market for pharmaceutical royalties as an asset class. FibroGen (1993), SUGEN, and BioMatrix applied the same discipline to drug development. Syntax Data built the coordinate system and its commercial applications for financial and economic data. Cibus applies pharmaceutical-grade production standards to plant biology through precision gene editing.
More on Rory
Career Timeline
Forty-five years, chronologically.
Credentials
Education, professional record, and recognition.
Patents
The full patent record behind the Locus Model.
Author & Social Profiles
Published writing, interviews, and professional profiles.
Media Kit
Headshot, short and long bios, and fast facts.
Get in touch
For speaking, consulting, academic collaboration, or venture inquiries, see Systems Economics and Applications, or go directly to Contact.