A charitable institution created by a will
Henry Wellcome left pharmaceutical business interests and historical medical collections to a trust supporting health research and knowledge of medical history. The Wellcome Trust was the charitable institution; the Wellcome Foundation was the pharmaceutical company whose shares it inherited.
Changing sources of income
Company profits supported the trust’s early grants. Its archive records the flotation of Wellcome plc in London in 1986 and a partial share sale to diversify income. In 1995 most of its remaining interest was sold to Glaxo. Investment returns subsequently supported the trust’s research funding.
Projects and infrastructure
Wellcome has funded researchers, laboratories and collaborative programmes. The Sanger Institute, established with its support in 1992, became a major sequencing contributor to the Human Genome Project. Such funding supported long-lived infrastructure as well as individual investigations.
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