Genentech
Encyclopedia
Genentech Inc., or Genetic Engineering Technology, Inc., is a biotechnology
corporation
, founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson
and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer
. Trailing the founding of Cetus by five years, it was an important step in the evolution of the biotechnology
industry. One of its founders, Boyer, is considered to be a pioneer in the field of recombinant DNA
technology. In 1973, Boyer and his colleague Stanley Norman Cohen
demonstrated that restriction enzyme
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 bacteria
when they produced the hormone
somatostatin
in 1977. David Goeddel
and Dennis Kleid were then added to the group, and contributed to its success with synthetic human insulin
in 1978.
As of February 2011, Genentech employed more than 11,000 people. The Swiss pharmaceutical conglomerate Hoffmann-La Roche
now completely owns Genentech after completing its purchase on March 26, 2009 for approximately $46.8 billion.
, Immunology
, Tissue Growth and Repair, Neuroscience and Infectious Disease. Genentech's recent hiring and acquisitions indicate an intent to expand into Microbiology
and Medical Imaging
. Except for a small development group at Oceanside, Genentech's research facilities are located only on the South San Francisco campus.
Genentech's corporate headquarters is at South San Francisco, California
, with additional manufacturing facilities in Vacaville, California
and in Oceanside, California
. On March 17, 2006, Genentech announced its decision to construct a new fill/finish manufacturing facility with a distribution center in Hillsboro, Oregon
(near Portland) . In December 2006, Genentech sold its Porrino, Spain facility to Lonza
and acquired an exclusive right to purchase Lonza's mammalian cell culture manufacturing facility under construction in Singapore. 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 with licensure .
reported that Genentech's talking points on health care reform made it into the official statements of several Members of Congress during the health care debate.
In 1999, Genentech agreed to pay the University of California, San Francisco
$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, a growth hormone, independently of UCSF. A jury ruled that the university's patent was valid last July, but wasn't able to decide whether Protropin was based upon UCSF research or not. Protropin, a drug used to treat dwarfism, was Genentech's first marketed drug and its $2 billion in sales has contributed greatly to Genentech's 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.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
, founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert A. Swanson
Robert A. Swanson
Robert A. Swanson was a 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 biotech companies in the world....
and biochemist Dr. Herbert Boyer
Herbert Boyer
Herbert W. Boyer is a recipient of the 1990 National Medal of Science, co-recipient of the 1996 Lemelson-MIT Prize, and a co-founder of Genentech. He served as Vice President of Genentech from 1976 through his retirement in 1991....
. Trailing the founding of Cetus by five years, it was an important step in the evolution of the biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
industry. One of its founders, Boyer, is considered to be a pioneer in the field of recombinant DNA
Recombinant DNA
Recombinant DNA molecules are DNA sequences that result from the use of laboratory methods to bring together genetic material from multiple sources, creating sequences that would not otherwise be found in biological organisms...
technology. In 1973, Boyer and his colleague Stanley Norman Cohen
Stanley Norman Cohen
Stanley Norman Cohen is an American geneticist.Cohen is a graduate of Rutgers University, and received his doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1960...
demonstrated that restriction enzyme
Restriction enzyme
A Restriction Enzyme is an enzyme that cuts double-stranded DNA at specific recognition nucleotide sequences known as restriction sites. Such enzymes, found in bacteria and archaea, are thought to have evolved to provide a defense mechanism against invading viruses...
s could be used as "scissors" to cut DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
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
Beckman Research Institute
The Beckman Research Institute is a research facility located at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA, United States. It is dedicated to studying normal and abnormal biological processes which may be related to cancer. The institute was dedicated in 1952, and endowed by the...
, and the group became the first to successfully express
Gene expression
Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product. These products are often proteins, but in non-protein coding genes such as ribosomal RNA , transfer RNA or small nuclear RNA genes, the product is a functional RNA...
a human gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
in bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
when they produced the hormone
Hormone
A hormone is a chemical released by a cell or a gland in one part of the body that sends out messages that affect cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. In essence, it is a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one...
somatostatin
Somatostatin
Somatostatin is a peptide hormone that regulates the endocrine system and affects neurotransmission and cell proliferation via interaction with G-protein-coupled somatostatin receptors and inhibition of the release of numerous secondary hormones.Somatostatin...
in 1977. David Goeddel
David Goeddel
David Goeddel is a pioneer of the biotechnology industry who, employed at the time by Genentech, successfully used genetic engineering to coax bacteria into creating synthetic human insulin, human growth hormone, and human TPA for use in therapeutic medicine...
and Dennis Kleid were then added to the group, and contributed to its success with synthetic human insulin
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
in 1978.
As of February 2011, Genentech employed more than 11,000 people. The Swiss pharmaceutical conglomerate Hoffmann-La Roche
Hoffmann-La Roche
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is a Swiss global health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange....
now completely owns Genentech after completing its purchase on March 26, 2009 for approximately $46.8 billion.
Research
Genentech markets itself as a research-driven corporation that follows the science to make new innovations. They employ more than 1,100 researchers, scientists and postdocs and cover a wide range of scientific activity — from molecular biology to protein chemistry to bioinformatics and physiology. Genentech scientists in these various areas of expertise currently focus their efforts on five disease categories: OncologyOncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
, Immunology
Immunology
Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...
, Tissue Growth and Repair, Neuroscience and Infectious Disease. Genentech's recent hiring and acquisitions indicate an intent to expand into Microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
and Medical Imaging
Medical imaging
Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...
. Except for a small development group at Oceanside, Genentech's research facilities are located only on the South San Francisco campus.
Facilities
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...
, with additional manufacturing facilities in Vacaville, California
Vacaville, California
Vacaville, California is a city located in the northeastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area in Solano County. The city is nearly half way between Sacramento and San Francisco on I-80. It sits approximately from Sacramento, and from San Francisco...
and in Oceanside, California
Oceanside, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 people per square mile...
. On March 17, 2006, Genentech announced its decision to construct a new fill/finish manufacturing facility with a distribution center in Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
(near Portland) . In December 2006, Genentech sold its Porrino, Spain facility to Lonza
Lonza Group
Lonza Group is a Swiss chemicals and biotechnology company, headquartered in Basel. The firm provides a number of products and services to the pharmaceutical and life science industries, including organic fine and performance chemicals, custom manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, chemical synthesis...
and acquired an exclusive right to purchase Lonza's mammalian cell culture manufacturing facility under construction in Singapore. 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
Ranibizumab
Ranibizumab is a monoclonal antibody fragment derived from the same parent mouse antibody as bevacizumab . It is much smaller than the parent molecule and has been affinity matured to provide stronger binding to VEGF-A...
injection) bulk drug substance with licensure .
Disputes
In 2009, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that Genentech's talking points on health care reform made it into the official statements of several Members of Congress during the health care debate.
In 1999, Genentech agreed to pay the University of California, San Francisco
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
$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, a growth hormone, independently of UCSF. A jury ruled that the university's patent was valid last July, but wasn't able to decide whether Protropin was based upon UCSF research or not. Protropin, a drug used to treat dwarfism, was Genentech's first marketed drug and its $2 billion in sales has contributed greatly to Genentech's 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.
Products timeline
- 1982 - Synthetic "human" insulinInsulinInsulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), thanks largely to its partnership with insulin manufacturer Eli Lilly and CompanyEli Lilly and CompanyEli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States...
, who shepherded the product through the FDA approval process. The product (HumulinHumulinHumulin is the brand name for a group of biosynthetic human insulin products, originally developed by Genentech in 1978 and later acquired by Eli Lilly and Company, the company who arguably facilitated...
) was licensed to and manufactured by Lilly, and was the first-ever approved genetically engineered human therapeutic. - 1985 - Protropin (somatrem) - Supplementary growth hormoneGrowth hormoneGrowth hormone is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. Growth hormone is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior...
for children with growth hormone deficiencyGrowth hormone deficiencyGrowth hormone deficiency is a medical condition in which the body does not produce enough growth hormone . Growth hormone, also called somatotropin, is a polypeptide hormone which stimulates growth and cell reproduction...
(ceased manufacturing 2004). - 1987 - Activase (alteplase) - A recombinant tissue plasminogen activatorTissue plasminogen activatorTissue plasminogen activator 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 of plasminogen to plasmin, the major enzyme responsible for clot breakdown...
(tPa) used to dissolve blood clots in patients with acute myocardial infarctionMyocardial infarctionMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. Also used to treat non-hemorrhagic stroke. - 1990 - Actimmune (interferon gamma 1bInterferonInterferons are proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of pathogens—such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites—or tumor cells. They allow communication between cells to trigger the protective defenses of the immune system that eradicate pathogens or tumors.IFNs belong to...
) - Treatment of chronic granulomatous diseaseChronic granulomatous diseaseChronic granulomatous disease is a diverse group of hereditary diseases in which certain cells of the immune system have difficulty forming the reactive oxygen compounds used to kill certain ingested pathogens...
(licensed to Intermune). - 1993 - Nutropin (recombinant somatropin) - Growth hormoneGrowth hormoneGrowth hormone is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. Growth hormone is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior...
for children and adults for treatment before kidney transplant due to chronic renal insufficiency. - 1993 - Pulmozyme (dornase alfa) - Inhalation treatment for children and young adults with cystic fibrosisCystic fibrosisCystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disease affecting most critically the lungs, and also the pancreas, liver, and intestine...
- recombinant DNAse. - 1997 - RituxanRituximabRituximab, sold under the trade names Rituxan and MabThera, is a chimeric monoclonal antibody against the protein CD20, which is primarily found on the surface of B cells...
(rituximab)- Treatment for specific kinds of non-Hodgkins lymphomas. In 2006, also approved for rheumatoid arthritis. - 1998 - HerceptinTrastuzumabTrastuzumab is a monoclonal antibody that interferes with the HER2/neu receptor.The HER receptors are proteins that are embedded in the cell membrane and communicate molecular signals from outside the cell to inside the cell, and turn genes on and off...
(trastuzumab) - Treatment for metastatic breast cancer patients with tumors that overexpress the HER2 gene. Recently approved for adjuvant therapy for breast cancer. FDA also recently approved Trastuzumab for metastaic gastric cancer with HER2 receptor site positive. - 2000 - TNKase (tenecteplase) - "Clot-bustingThrombolysisThrombolysis is the breakdown of blood clots by pharmacological means. It is colloquially referred to as clot busting for this reason...
" drug to treat acute myocardial infarctionMyocardial infarctionMyocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. - 2003 - XolairOmalizumabOmalizumab is a humanized antibody drug approved for patients with moderate-to-severe or severe allergic asthma, which is caused by hypersensitivity reactions to certain harmless environmental substances...
(omalizumab) - Subcutaneous injection for moderate to severe persistent asthmaAsthmaAsthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
. - 2003 - RaptivaEfalizumabEfalizumab is a formerly available medication designed to treat autoimmune diseases, origianally marketed to treat psoriasis. As implied by the suffix -zumab, it is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody administered once weekly by subcutaneous injection...
(efalizumab) - Antibody designed to block the activation and reactivation of T cellT cellT cells or T lymphocytes belong to a group of white blood cells known as lymphocytes, and play a central role in cell-mediated immunity. They can be distinguished from other lymphocytes, such as B cells and natural killer cells , by the presence of a T cell receptor on the cell surface. They are...
s that lead to the development of psoriasisPsoriasisPsoriasis is an autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system mistakes the skin cells as a pathogen, and sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious. However, psoriasis has been linked to an increased risk of...
. Developed in partnership with XOMA. In 2009, voluntary U.S. market withdrawal after reports of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathyProgressive multifocal leukoencephalopathyProgressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy , also known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalitis, is a rare and usually fatal viral disease that is characterized by progressive damage or inflammation of the white matter of the brain at multiple locations .It occurs almost exclusively in...
. - 2004 - AvastinBevacizumabBevacizumab is a drug that blocks angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels. It is commonly used to treat various cancers, including colorectal, lung, breast, kidney, and glioblastomas....
(bevacizumab) - Anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody for the treatment of metastatic cancer of the colonColon (anatomy)The colon is the last part of the digestive system in most vertebrates; it extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body, and is the site in which flora-aided fermentation of unabsorbed material occurs. Unlike the small intestine, the colon does not play a...
or rectumRectumThe rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus. The human rectum is about 12 cm long...
. In 2006, also approved for locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. 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 multiformeGlioblastoma multiformeGlioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans, involving glial cells and accounting for 52% of all functional tissue brain tumor cases and 20% of all intracranial tumors. Despite being the most prevalent form of primary brain tumor, GBMs...
, and sixth approval for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinomaRenal cell carcinomaRenal cell carcinoma is a kidney cancer that originates in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule, the very small tubes in the kidney that filter the blood and remove waste products. RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, responsible for approximately 80% of cases...
. - 2004 - TarcevaErlotinibErlotinib hydrochloride is a drug used to treat non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and several other types of cancer. It is a reversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor, which acts on the epidermal growth factor receptor . It is marketed in the United States by Genentech and OSI...
(erlotinib) - Treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer. - 2006 - LucentisRanibizumabRanibizumab is a monoclonal antibody fragment derived from the same parent mouse antibody as bevacizumab . It is much smaller than the parent molecule and has been affinity matured to provide stronger binding to VEGF-A...
(ranibizumab injection) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved LUCENTIS for the 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 - January 8, The FDA announced approval of Actemra (tocilizumab), the first interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor-inhibiting monoclonal antibody approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
- Ongoing Work - Genentech is working on DR-6DR-6DR-6 is a designated dual-carriageway highway in the Dominican Republic and gives Santo Domingo a fast connection to the southwestern part of the republic bypassing the city of Bajos de Haina, and San Cristobal...
blocking and anti-N-APPAmyloid precursor proteinAmyloid precursor protein is an integral membrane protein expressed in many tissues and concentrated in the synapses of neurons. Its primary function is not known, though it has been implicated as a regulator of synapse formation, neural plasticity and iron export...
monoclonal antibodies as a potential treatment to delay progression of neuronal destruction in early Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. To the extent that prevention of neuronal destruction via DR-6 and N-APP would require ongoing intervention, the effective half-life of any monoclonal antibody treatment would have to be substantial. An siRNA approach against DR-6, or vaccine against N-APP may circumvent these limitations.
Awards and recognitions
- Fortune Magazine named Genentech number one on its 2006 list of the "100 Best Companies To Work For." This was the first number one ranking for the company, which has been on the list for thirteen consecutive years. In 2007, it dropped to second place, behind Google. In 2008, the company ranked five, in 2009, the company ranked number seven, in 2010 the company ranked 19 and in 2011 the company ranked 35. 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, 2007, 2008 and 2010 by
- It was named as one of the 100 best corporate citizens 2006 by the Business Ethics Magazine.
- Genentech was named Top Employer by 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
- In December 2008, Glassdoor.com rated the Genentech CEO Arthur D. LevinsonArthur D. LevinsonArthur D. Levinson is the chairman of Genentech and the chairman of Apple Inc....
as the "nicest" CEO of 2008 with a 93% approval rating. - Genentech was featured in the documentary film Something Ventured which premiered in 2011.
Further reading
- Sally Smith Hughes. Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech (U of Chicago Press; 213 pages; 2011). a scholarly history
External links
- Genentech official website
- A Cancer Drug Shows Promise, at a Price That Many Can't Pay New York Times, February 15, 2006, Alex Berenson
- Presentation by Genentech employees about Sustainable Business January 10, 2007