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 ...

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 cens ...

. It became an independent

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...

Roche 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 ...

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 Robert "Bob" Swanson (1947–1999) was an American venture capitalist who cofounded the biotechnology giant Genentech in 1976 with Herbert Boyer. Genentech is a pioneer in the field, and it remains one of the leading biotechnology companies in t ...

and biochemist

Herbert Boyer Herbert Wayne "Herb" Boyer (born July 10, 1936) is an American biotechnologist, researcher and entrepreneur in biotechnology. Along with Stanley N. Cohen and Paul Berg he discovered a method to coax bacteria into producing foreign proteins, the ...

. 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 f ...

technology. In 1973, Boyer and his colleague

Stanley Norman Cohen Stanley Norman Cohen (born February 17, 1935) is an American geneticist and the Kwoh-Ting Li Professor in the Stanford University School of Medicine. Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer were the first scientists to transplant genes from one living ...

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 A plasmid is a small, extrachromosomal DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently. They are most commonly found as small circular, double-stranded DNA molecules in bacteria; how ...

. While Cohen returned to the laboratory in academia, Swanson contacted Boyer to found the company. Boyer worked with Arthur Riggs and

Keiichi Itakura is an organic chemist and a Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope National Medical Center. Biography Itakura was born in Tokyo, Japan on February 18, 1942. He obtained a P ...

from the

Beckman Research Institute The Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope (BRI) is a not-for-profit medical research facility located at and partnering with the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, United States. It is dedicated to studying normal an ...

, and the group became the first to successfully

express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''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-cou ...

in 1977.

David Goeddel David V. Goeddel (born 1951) is an American molecular biologist who, employed at the time by Genentech, successfully used genetic engineering to coax bacteria into creating synthetic human insulin, human growth hormone, and human tissue plasminogen ...

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 metabolism ...

in 1978. In 1990 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG 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 Omalizumab, sold under the brand name Xolair, is a medication used to treat asthma, nasal polyps, and urticaria (hives). Omalizumab is a recombinant DNA-derived humanized IgG1k monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to free human immunoglo ...

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 ...

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 b ...

in neurology. * In October 2014 Genentech paid $150M upfront to collaborate with Iowa-based NewLink Genetics on

checkpoint inhibitor Checkpoint inhibitor therapy is a form of cancer immunotherapy. The therapy targets immune checkpoints, key regulators of the immune system that when stimulated can dampen the immune response to an immunologic stimulus. Some cancers can protect ...

s. * In June 2015 it entered into a wide-ranging partnership with

The Data Incubator The Data Incubator is a data science education company. It offers corporate data science training and placement services. It is best known for an 8-week educational fellowship preparing students with Master's degrees and PhDs for careers in b ...

to help train and hire the next generation of data scientists at the company. * In January 2015 it signed a $60M deal with

23andMe 23andMe Holding Co. is a publicly held personal genomics and biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, California. It is best known for providing a direct-to-consumer genetic testing service in which customers provide a saliva sample ...

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 Atezolizumab, sold under the brand name Tecentriq, is a monoclonal antibody medication used to treat urothelial carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), hepatocellula ...

. * 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 BioLineRx (), or BioLine, is a publicly traded drug development company. Headquartered in Israel, its shares are traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market and on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Corporate history The firm was established in 2003 as a jo ...

on a

that Genentech intended to pair with its own

Facilities

Genentech's corporate headquarters are in

(), with additional manufacturing facilities in

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it t ...

;

Oceanside, California Oceanside is a city on the South Coast of California, located in San Diego County. The city had a population of 167,086 at the 2010 census. The city is a popular tourist destination, owing to its historic landmarks, beaches, and architecture. ...

; and

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companie ...

. 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, bor ...

. 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, sold under the brand name Lucentis among others, is a monoclonal antibody fragment ( Fab) created from the same parent mouse antibody as bevacizumab. It is an anti-angiogenic that is approved to treat the "wet" type of age-related ...

(

ranibizumab Ranibizumab, sold under the brand name Lucentis among others, is a monoclonal antibody fragment ( Fab) created from the same parent mouse antibody as bevacizumab. It is an anti-angiogenic that is approved to treat the "wet" type of age-related ...

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 feder ...

on issues related to

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...

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 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 ...

/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 Health care reform is for the most part governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place. Health care reform typically attempts to: * Broaden the population that receives health care coverage through either public sector insu ...

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 William Blaine Luetkemeyer ( ; born May 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for , a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Luetkemeyer formerly served as a member of the Missouri House of ...

, 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, Colonel ...

, 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 Growth hormone deficiency (GHD), or human growth hormone deficiency, is a medical condition resulting from not enough growth hormone (GH). Generally the most noticeable symptom is that an individual attains a short height. Newborns may also prese ...

(ceased manufacturing 2004). * 1987:

Activase Alteplase (t-PA), a biosynthetic form of human tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), is a thrombolytic medication, used to treat acute ischemic stroke, acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (a type of heart attack), pulmonary embolism as ...

(alteplase): A recombinant

tissue plasminogen activator Tissue plasminogen activator (abbreviated tPA or PLAT) is a protein involved in the breakdown of blood clots. It is a serine protease () found on endothelial cells, the cells that line the blood vessels. As an enzyme, it catalyzes the conversion ...

(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 ma ...

. 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 Growth hormone therapy refers to the use of growth hormone (GH) as a prescription medication—it is one form of hormone therapy. Growth hormone is a peptide hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that stimulates growth and cell reproduction. I ...

(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 end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplant ...

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, vo ...

. * 1993:

Pulmozyme Dornase alfa (proprietary name Pulmozyme from Genentech) is a highly purified solution of recombinant human deoxyribonuclease I (rhDNase), an enzyme which selectively cleaves DNA. Dornase alfa hydrolyzes the DNA present in sputum/mucus of cy ...

(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. Ot ...

—recombinant

DNAse Deoxyribonuclease (DNase, for short) refers to a group of glycoprotein endonucleases which are enzymes that catalyze the hydrolytic cleavage of phosphodiester linkages in the DNA backbone, thus degrading DNA. The role of the DNase enzyme in cells ...

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

Herceptin Trastuzumab, sold under the brand name Herceptin among others, is a monoclonal antibody used to treat breast cancer and stomach cancer. It is specifically used for cancer that is HER2 receptor positive. It may be used by itself or together wi ...

(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 l ...

patients with tumors that overexpress the

HER2 Receptor tyrosine-protein kinase erbB-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ERBB2'' gene. ERBB is abbreviated from erythroblastic oncogene B, a gene originally isolated from the avian genome. The human protein is also frequently refer ...

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, sold under the trade names TNKase, Metalyse and Elaxim, is an enzyme used as a thrombolytic drug. Tenecteplase is a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) produced by recombinant DNA technology using an established mammalian cell line ...

(tenecteplase): " Clot-busting" drug to treat acute

. * 2003:

(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, co ...

. * 2003: Raptiva (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 r ...

s that lead to the development of

psoriasis Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by raised areas of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small, localized patches to comple ...

. Developed in partnership wit
XOMA
In 2009, voluntary U.S. market withdrawal after reports of

progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare and often fatal viral disease characterized by progressive damage (''-pathy'') or inflammation of the white matter (''leuko-'') of the brain (''-encephalo-'') at multiple locations (''mu ...

. * 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 Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality cha ...

, and sixth approval for the treatment of metastatic

renal cell carcinoma Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a kidney cancer that originates in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule, a part of the very small tubes in the kidney that transport primary urine. RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, re ...

. 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:

(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, sold under the brand name Actemra among others, is an immunosuppressive drug, used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a severe form of arthritis in children, and COVID19. It is a hu ...

(tocilizumab): The first interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). * 2011:

Zelboraf Vemurafenib (INN, marketed as Zelboraf) is an inhibitor of the B-Raf enzyme developed by Plexxikon (now part of Daiichi-Sankyo) and Genentech for the treatment of late-stage melanoma.; The name "vemurafenib" comes from V600E mutated BRAF i ...

(vemurafenib): For the treatment of metastatic melanoma caused by BRAF mutation. * 2012: Erivedge (vismodegib): Treatment for advanced

basal-cell carcinoma Basal-cell carcinoma (BCC), also known as basal-cell cancer, is the most common type of skin cancer. It often appears as a painless raised area of skin, which may be shiny with small blood vessels running over it. It may also present as a raise ...

(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 pathwa ...

. This is the first approved therapy for advanced BCC. * 2012:

Perjeta Pertuzumab, sold under the brand name Perjeta, is a monoclonal antibody used in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel for the treatment of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer; it also used in the same combination as a neoadjuvant in ear ...

(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, sold under the brand name Gazyva among others, is a humanized anti- CD20 monoclonal antibody, originated by GlycArt Biotechnology AG and developed by Roche as a cancer treatment. It can be used as a first-line treatment for chronic ...

(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 ...

(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 th ...

(pirfenidone): An anti-fibrotic drug for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Developed by Intermune, Inc. * 2015: Cotellic (cobimetinib): For use in combination with ZELBORAF (vemurafenib), to treat metastatic melanoma caused by BRAF mutation. * 2015:

Alecensa Alectinib (INN, marketed as Alecensa) is an oral drug that blocks the activity of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and is used to treat non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It was developed by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Japan, which is part of t ...

(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 is a Japanese pharmaceutical company best known for developing Crestor. Medical supply and brand name also uses katakana (シオノギ). Shionogi has business roots that date back to 1878, and was incorporated in 1919. Among the medicines pro ...

. * 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 ''Fortune'' is an American multinational business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. The ...

'' 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 are ...

''. * 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 Glassdoor is an American website where current and former employees anonymously review companies. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, it has additional offices in Chicago, Dublin, London, and São Paulo. Glassdoor also allows its users to ...

rated the Genentech CEO Arthur D. Levinson as the "nicest" CEO of 2008 with a 93% approval rating. * Genentech was featured in the documentary film

Something Ventured "Something Ventured" is a 2011 documentary film investigating the emergence of American venture capitalism in the mid-20th century. ''Something Venture''d follows the stories of the venture capitalists who worked with entrepreneurs to start and ...

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 Eco ...

'' 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