Genentech, Inc., is an American

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

headquartered in

South San Francisco, California South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 censu ...

. It became an independent subsidiary of Roche in 2009. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent center within Roche. Historically, the company is regarded as the world's first

company. As of July 2021, Genentech employed 13,539 people.

History

The company was founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson and biochemist Herbert Boyer. Boyer is considered to be a pioneer in the field of

recombinant DNA Recombinant DNA (rDNA) molecules are DNA molecules formed by laboratory methods of genetic recombination (such as molecular cloning) that bring together genetic material from multiple sources, creating sequences that would not otherwise be fou ...

technology. In 1973, Boyer and his colleague Stanley Norman Cohen demonstrated that

restriction enzyme A restriction enzyme, restriction endonuclease, REase, ENase or'' restrictase '' is an enzyme that cleaves DNA into fragments at or near specific recognition sites within molecules known as restriction sites. Restriction enzymes are one class ...

s could be used as "scissors" to cut DNA fragments of interest from one source, to be ligated into a similarly cut plasmid vector. While Cohen returned to the laboratory in academia, Swanson contacted Boyer to found the company. Boyer worked with Arthur Riggs and Keiichi Itakura from the Beckman Research Institute, and the group became the first to successfully express a human

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were am ...

when they produced the

hormone A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required ...

somatostatin Somatostatin, also known as growth hormone-inhibiting hormone (GHIH) or by several other names, is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G protein-co ...

in 1977. David Goeddel and Dennis Kleid were then added to the group, and contributed to its success with synthetic human

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

in 1978. In 1990

F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX S ...

acquired a majority stake in Genentech. In 2006 Genentech acquired

Tanox Tanox was a biopharmaceutical company based in Houston, Texas. The company was founded by two biomedical research scientists, Nancy T. Chang and Tse Wen Chang in March 1986 with $250,000, which was a large part of their family savings at that ...

in its first acquisition deal. Tanox had started developing Xolair and development was completed in collaboration with Novartis and Genentech; the acquisition allowed Genentech to keep more of the revenue. In March 2009 Roche acquired Genentech by buying shares it didn't already control for approximately $46.8 billion. In July 2014, Genentech/Roche acquired Seragon for its pipeline of small-molecule cancer drug candidates for $725 million cash upfront, with an additional $1 billion of payments dependent on successful development of products in Seragon's pipeline.

Research

Genentech is a pioneering research-driven

company that has continued to conduct R&D internally as well as through collaborations. Genentech's research collaborations include: * In 2008 Genentech entered into a collaboration with Roche and its subsidiary GlycArt to develop obinutuzumab. * In February 2010 Genentech entered into a collaboration with

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It co ...

after having worked with them in about fifteen other collaborations, this time to collaborate on small molecule

drug discovery In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered. Historically, drugs were discovered by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or by ...

in neurology. * In October 2014 Genentech paid $150M upfront to collaborate with Iowa-based NewLink Genetics on checkpoint inhibitors. * In June 2015 it entered into a wide-ranging partnership with The Data Incubator to help train and hire the next generation of data scientists at the company. * In January 2015 it signed a $60M deal with 23andMe that gave Genentech access to the genomic and patient-reported data held by 23andMe. * In October 2015 it started a collaboration with Nimbus Therapeutics to develop leads from Nimbus' in silico drug discovery platform. * In June 2016 Genentech partnered Epizyme to conduct clinical trials exploring whether Epizyme's EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat would be synergistic with Genentech's atezolizumab. * In August 2016, the company began a collaboration with Carmot Therapeutics in which Carmot will discover new candidates and Genentech will develop them. * In September 2016 Genentech partnered with the Israeli company BioLineRx on a checkpoint inhibitor that Genentech intended to pair with its own atezolizumab.

Facilities

Genentech's corporate headquarters are in

(), with additional manufacturing facilities in Vacaville, California; Oceanside, California; and Hillsboro, Oregon. In December 2006, Genentech sold its Porriño,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, facility to Lonza and acquired an exclusive right to purchase Lonza's mammalian cell culture manufacturing facility under construction in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. In June 2007, Genentech began the construction and development of an ''E. coli'' manufacturing facility, also in Singapore, for the worldwide production of Lucentis ( ranibizumab injection) bulk drug substance.

Public-private engagement

Political lobbying

Genentech is a donor to the Center for Health Care Strategies, a non-governmental organization that lobbies the

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

on issues related to

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and ...

Genentech Inc Political Action Committee

Genentech Inc Political Action Committee is a U.S. Federal Political Action Committee (PAC), created to "aggregate contributions from members or employees and their families to donate to candidates for federal office".

Controversy

Disputes

In November 1999, Genentech agreed to pay the

$200 million to settle a nine-year-old patent dispute. In 1990, UCSF sued Genentech for $400 million in compensation for alleged theft of technology developed at the university and covered by a 1982 patent. Genentech claimed that they developed

Protropin Somatrem, sold under the brand name Protropin, is an analogue of growth hormone (GH). Somatrem is a recombinant human growth hormone used for the treatment of short stature due to decreased or absent secretion of endogenous growth hormone. Som ...

(recombinant somatotropin/human growth hormone), independently of UCSF. A jury ruled that the university's patent was valid in July 1999, but wasn't able to decide whether Protropin was based upon UCSF research or not. Protropin, a drug used to treat

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

, was Genentech's first marketed drug and its $2 billion in sales has contributed greatly to its position as an industry leader. The settlement was to be divided as follows: $30 million to the University of California General Fund, $85 million to the three inventors and two collaborating scientists, $50 million towards a new teaching and research campus for UCSF, and $35 million to support university-wide research. In 2009, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that Genentech's talking points on health care reform appeared verbatim in the official statements of several Members of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

during the national health care reform debate. Two U.S. Representatives, Joe Wilson and Blaine Luetkemeyer, both issued the same written statements: "One of the reasons I have long supported the U.S. biotechnology industry is that it is a homegrown success story that has been an engine of job creation in this country. Unfortunately, many of the largest companies that would seek to enter the biosimilar market have made their money by outsourcing their research to foreign countries like India." The statement was originally drafted by lobbyists for Genentech.

Products timeline

* 1982: Synthetic "human"

approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), partnered with insulin manufacturer

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colon ...

, who shepherded the product through the FDA approval process. The product ( Humulin) was licensed to and manufactured by Lilly, and was the first-ever approved genetically engineered human therapeutic. * 1985:

(somatrem): Supplementary

growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...

for children with growth hormone deficiency (ceased manufacturing 2004). * 1987: Activase (alteplase): A recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (tPa) used to dissolve blood clots in patients with acute

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ...

. Also used to treat non-hemorrhagic stroke. * 1990: Actimmune ( interferon gamma 1b): Treatment of

chronic granulomatous disease Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), also known as Bridges–Good syndrome, chronic granulomatous disorder, and Quie syndrome, is a diverse group of hereditary diseases in which certain cells of the immune system have difficulty forming the reacti ...

(licensed to Intermune). * 1993: Nutropin (recombinant somatropin):

Growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...

for children and adults for treatment before

kidney transplant Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with chronic kidney disease, end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or li ...

due to

chronic kidney disease Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a type of kidney disease in which a gradual loss of kidney function occurs over a period of months to years. Initially generally no symptoms are seen, but later symptoms may include leg swelling, feeling tired, ...

. * 1993: Pulmozyme (dornase alfa): Inhalation treatment for children and young adults with

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. ...

—recombinant DNAse. * 1997: Rituxan (rituximab): Treatment for specific kinds of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. In 2006, also approved for rheumatoid arthritis. * 1998: Herceptin (trastuzumab): Treatment for

metastatic breast cancer Metastatic breast cancer, also referred to as metastases, advanced breast cancer, secondary tumors, secondaries or stage IV breast cancer, is a stage of breast cancer where the breast cancer cells have spread to distant sites beyond the axillary ...

patients with tumors that overexpress the HER2 gene. Recently approved for adjuvant therapy for breast cancer. FDA also recently approved Trastuzumab for metastatic gastric cancer with HER2 receptor site positive. * 2000: TNKase (tenecteplase): " Clot-busting" drug to treat acute

. * 2003: Xolair (omalizumab): Subcutaneous injection for moderate to severe persistent

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, c ...

. * 2003:

Raptiva Efalizumab (trade name Raptiva, Genentech, Merck Serono) is a formerly available medication designed to treat autoimmune diseases, originally marketed to treat psoriasis. As implied by the suffix ''-zumab'', it is a recombinant humanized monoclon ...

(efalizumab): Antibody designed to block the activation and reactivation of

T cell A T cell is a type of lymphocyte. T cells are one of the important white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell ...

s that lead to the development of psoriasis. Developed in partnership wit
XOMA
In 2009, voluntary U.S. market withdrawal after reports of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. * 2004: Avastin (bevacizumab): Anti-VEGF

monoclonal antibody A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a cell Lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies ...

for the treatment of metastatic cancer of the colon or

rectum The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the gut in others. The adult human rectum is about long, and begins at the rectosigmoid junction (the end of the sigmoid colon) at the l ...

. In 2006, also approved for locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic

non-small cell lung cancer Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is any type of epithelial lung cancer other than small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). NSCLC accounts for about 85% of all lung cancers. As a class, NSCLCs are relatively insensitive to chemotherapy, compared to s ...

. In 2008, accelerated approval was granted for Avastin in combination with chemotherapy for previously untreated advanced HER2-negative breast cancer. In 2009, Avastin gained its fifth approval for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, and sixth approval for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. It was most publicized for its approval in advanced breast cancer treatment, but the FDA approval for breast cancer treatment was subsequently revoked in November 2011. * 2004: Tarceva (erlotinib): Treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer. * 2006: Lucentis (ranibizumab injection): Treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The FDA approved LUCENTIS after a Priority Review (six-month). Genentech started shipping product on June 30, 2006, the day the product was approved. * 2010: Actemra (tocilizumab): The first interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). * 2011:

Zelboraf Vemurafenib (International Nonproprietary Name, INN, marketed as Zelboraf) is an inhibitor of the BRAF (gene), B-Raf enzyme developed by Plexxikon (now part of Daiichi-Sankyo) and Genentech for the treatment of late-stage melanoma.; The name " ...

(vemurafenib): For the treatment of metastatic melanoma caused by BRAF mutation. * 2012: Erivedge (vismodegib): Treatment for advanced basal-cell carcinoma (BCC). A small molecule inhibitor that targets a key protein in the

Hedgehog signaling pathway The Hedgehog signaling pathway is a signaling pathway that transmits information to embryonic cells required for proper cell differentiation. Different parts of the embryo have different concentrations of hedgehog signaling proteins. The pathway ...

. This is the first approved therapy for advanced BCC. * 2012: Perjeta (pertuzumab): For use in combination with Herceptin (trastuzumab) and

docetaxel Docetaxel (DTX or DXL), sold under the brand name Taxotere among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes breast cancer, head and neck cancer, stomach cancer, prostate cancer and non-small-cell ...

chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with previously untreated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. * 2013: Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine): The first Genentech antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) to receive FDA approval. It consists of trastuzumab (Herceptin) linked to a cytotoxic agent mertansine (DM1), used in the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. * 2013: Gazyva (obinutuzumab): For use in combination with chlorambucil to treat patients with previously untreated

chronic lymphocytic leukemia Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). Early on, there are typically no symptoms. Later, non-painful lymph node swelling, feeling tired, fever, n ...

(CLL). Gazyva is the first drug with

breakthrough therapy Breakthrough therapy is a United States Food and Drug Administration designation that expedites drug development that was created by Congress under Section 902 of the 9 July 2012 Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act. The FDA's " ...

designation to receive FDA approval. * 2014:

Esbriet Pirfenidone is a medication used for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. It works by reducing lung fibrosis through downregulation of the production of growth factors and procollagens I and II. It was first approved in Japan for the ...

(pirfenidone): An anti-fibrotic drug for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Developed by Intermune, Inc. * 2015:

Cotellic Cobimetinib, sold under the brand name Cotellic, is an anti-cancer medication used in combination with vemurafenib (Zelboraf) alone or with both vemurafenib and atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to treat melanoma. Cobimetinib is a MEK inhibitor. Cotellic, ...

(cobimetinib): For use in combination with ZELBORAF (vemurafenib), to treat metastatic melanoma caused by BRAF mutation. * 2015: Alecensa (alectinib): Treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). * 2016:

Venclexta Venetoclax, sold under the brand names Venclexta and Venclyxto, is a medication used to treat adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The most common side effects are lo ...

(venetoclax): Treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who have a chromosomal abnormality called 17p deletion and who have been treated with at least one prior therapy. * 2016: Tecentriq (atezolizumab): First-in-class anti-PD-L1 antibody for the treatment of advanced bladder cancer or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), both after failure of platinum-based chemotherapy. Tecentriq was granted accelerated approval for its advanced bladder cancer indication due to promising phase II results. * 2017: Ocrevus (ocrelizumab): The first FDA-approved therapy that treats both relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). The PPMS form of the disease previously had no approved treatments. * 2017: Hemlibra (emicizumab): Treatment for haemophilia A. Developed by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. * 2018: Xofluza (Baloxavir marboxil): Antiviral medication for treatment of influenza A and influenza B. Developed by Shionogi. * 2019: Polivy (Polatuzumab vedotin-piiq): Treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma when used in combination with bendamustine and rituximab.

Awards and recognitions

* '' Fortune Magazine'' has listed Genentech on its "100 Best Companies To Work For" for 22 consecutive years, with a number one ranking on its 2006 list. The ranking has varied from number 1 to number 80 throughout the years. The ranking is based on anonymous employee responses to a survey as well as an evaluation of the company's policies and culture. * Genentech was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004, 2006-8 and 2010-11 by ''Working Mother Magazine''. * It was named as one of the 100 best corporate citizens 2006 by the ''Business Ethics Magazine''. The company participates in various policy and civic leadership groups, such as TechNet, and sponsors independent third-party research and publications, such as the journal ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...

''. * Genentech was named Top Employer by ''Science Magazine'' on October 7, 2010, where it has been recognized for nine consecutive years. * In March 2008, Genentech was named Most Admired Pharmaceutical Company by Fortune for the second consecutive year. * In July 2010, Genentech was named on the "Top 100 Best Places to Work in IT" list by ''ComputerWorld'' magazine. * In December 2008, Glassdoor.com rated the Genentech CEO

Arthur D. Levinson Arthur D. Levinson (born March 31, 1950) is an American businessman and is the current chairman of Apple Inc. (2011–present) and CEO of Calico (an Alphabet Inc. venture). He is the former chief executive officer (1995–2009) and chairman (199 ...

as the "nicest" CEO of 2008 with a 93% approval rating. * Genentech was featured in the documentary film Something Ventured which premiered in 2011. * ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econ ...

'' rated Genentech as the Most Innovative Corporation of 2013.

References

External links

Genentech official website

Genentech Suppliers, Partners, and Customers

''

'', February 15, 2006, Alex Berenson
Presentation by Genentech employees about sustainable business
January 10, 2007 {{Authority control 1976 establishments in California 2009 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1976 Biotechnology companies established in 1976 Biotechnology companies of the United States Companies based in South San Francisco, California Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Roche Life sciences industry Orphan drug companies Pharmaceutical companies established in 1976 Pharmaceutical companies of the United States South San Francisco, California University spin-offs American subsidiaries of foreign companies