November 4, 2024

Genentech Overview

Genentech

Genentech

Introduction

Genetech, now a member of the Roche Group is a North American corporation committed to delivering biotechnological products and services. The company’s passion is to discover and develop medicines for societal use and to help people with serious terminal diseases regain their health back while using its products. Genentech has produced several medicines that are categorized as transformational discoveries, including the first targeted antibody for cancer as well as the pioneering medicine for primary and progressive multiple sclerosis. The company became an independent subsidiary of the Roche Group in the year 2009. However, according to research, Genetech is recognized as the world’s first biotech corporation in the world. 

Key Facts & Statistics  

Founding Year: Genentech was founded in the year 1976, approximately 46 years ago with its headquarters based in California United States.       

Industrial Ranking: Genentech since its inception has been named to the list of top-ranking bodies indicating the company as one of the key players and the most civil companies in the biotech industry as well as the world at large. Typically, according to Forbes Magazine, The company is ranked in the #67 position of America’s Best Employers for Diversity 2022 list. Additionally, The company is also ranked amongst America’s Best Employers By State list in the year 2022.   

Company Type: An Independent Subsidiary Company     

Market Reach: Ranked as one of the largest biotechnological companies across the world, Genentech.  The company manages its facilities and offices in major countries across the globe. Including countries such as Israel, Singapore, and China, as well as some other major countries in Europe.    

Industry Type: Medicine and Biotechnology 

Workforce Strength: Genentech has a total number of 13, 500 employees in its workforce globally as of the 2022 report from Forbes Magazine.  

Parent Company: Roche Group 

Historical Background 

 Genentech was founded by venture capitalist and entrepreneur, Rebert A. Swanson alongside a biochemist in the person of Herbert Boyer. However, prior to the formation of the company, in 1973, Boyer and his counterpart in the person of Stanley Norman Cohen shows that restriction enzymes can be used as scissors to cut DNA fragments of interest from one source, but it is, however, to be litigated into a similarly cut plasmid vector. After this discovery, Norman returned to the academic lab to continue his career pursuit, however, Boyer joined Swanson to co-found what is known today to be Genentech 

Upon the formation of the company, Boyer worked with a group of biochemists who are experts in the field to release and launch several pioneering products which include, becoming the first team to showcase a successful expression of a human gene in bacteria when they release the hormone somatostatin completed in the year 1977.  

In the year 1978, two experts joined the group in the persons of Dennis Kleid and David Goeddel. Shortly after the two experts join them, the team released synthetic human insulin in the same year, 1978. 

In the year 1990, F. Hoffman-La Roche AG bought the majority of the Genentech stake. However, in the year 2006, Genentech bought Tanox in its first acquisition deal. Prior to the purchase, Tanox had begun to build Xolair, and the development was finished in partnership with Genentech as well as Novartis. The purchase, therefore, gives Genentech the opportunity to keep more of the revenue. 

However, in November 1999, the company reached an agreement with the University of California, San Francisco to pay the amount valued at $200 million in order to help resolve a patent dispute filed against the company approximately nine years ago. 

Between 2004 and 2010, Genentech was enlisted three times on the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers by Working Mother Magazine.  

In December 2006, Genentech divested one of its facilities in Spain to a company under the name, Lonza and bought an exclusive right to buy the company’s mammalian cell manufacturing plant which was then under construction in Singapore. However, in June 2007, Genentech started the construction and establishment of a plant tagged with the name, E. coli which was being constructed in Singapore. The aim of the company is to ensure a global production and distribution of a product called Lucentis (a ranibizumab injection). 

In the year 2008, Genentech stepped into a partnership deal with Roche as well as its subsidiary operating under the name, GycArt in order to launch a product tagged with the name, obinutuzumab. However, in the same year, March, the company emerged as the Most Admired Pharmaceutical Company by Fortune Magazine making it the 2nd time in a row. 

In the year 2009, March, The Roche Group bought the remaining shares in Genentech which was valued at $46.8 billion USD. This purchase give the Roche Group the autonomous power to control the company, as a result, Genentech became a subsidiary of the Roche Group. 

In the year 2010, Genentech stepped into partnership with the University of California based in San Francisco. As of the time when the company agreed to collaborate with the university, it has however been in approximately 15 other partnership deals, however, its partnership with Genentech is to work together on the discovery of small molecule drugs in the field of neurology.  In the same year,  the company also emerged as the Top Employer by Science Magazine.  

In the year 2014, the company bought a company operating under the name, Seragon in a bid to improve its cancer medicine segment. The deal was in form of a cash pre-payment of $725 million, alongside an additional payment of $1 Billion USD based on the successful improvement of products in Seragon’s pipeline. However, in October, of the same year, the company paid as high as $150 million post-payment in a bid to collaborate with an Iowa-based company operating under the name, NewLink Genetics so as to work on checkpoint inhibitors. 

In the year 2015, January, the company signed a contract with a company under the name, 23andMe which gave Genentech access to some vital and comprehensive patient databases controlled by 23nadMe. However, in June, of the same year 2015, the company stepped into a broad spectrum of a partnership deals with The Data Incubator in a bid to help train as well as recruit the next generation of leaders and experts in the field of data science at the company. Aldo, in October of the same year, Nimbus Therapeutics entered into a partnership with Genentech which led to the development of leads from the company’s silicon medicine discovery platform. 

In the year 2016, June, Genentech entered into a partnership deal with Epizyme with the aim to conduct and organize clinical trials while the two companies plan to leverage and synergize their products to ensure a cutting-edge breakthrough and transformation in the field of biotechnology. However, in August of the same year, the company entered into another collaborative deal with a company under the name, Carmot Therapeutics with the two company having a separate function to carry out– that Carmot discover new candidate and Genentech is charged with the responsibility of harnessing and equipping them.  

However, in September 2016, Genentech stepped into Isreal to collaborate with an Isreal-based company under the name, BioLineRX. The partnership was that the two company are two work on a checkpoint inhibitor which Genentech has the intention of pairing with its own product tagged with the name, atezolizumab.  

Product Listings 

In totality, the company manufactures and develops a vast line of products each tailored to tack specific sicknesses and illnesses. However, this section will try as much as possible to list the major and most (but not all) of these products offered.  

Products include: 

Avastin 

Rituxan 

Hemlibra 

Invirase 

Lucentis 

Xolair 

Anaprox 

Cytovene 

TNKase 

Nutropin 

Alecensa 

Perjeta 

Zenapax 

Valium 

Fuzeon 

CellCept 

Tamiflu 

Cathflo 

Rocephin  

Romazicon 

Boniva 

Tecentriq 

Polivy 

Gazyva 

Actemra 

Rituxan 

Esbriet 

Klonopin 

Financial Overview 

Revenue: 6.4 billion (2020) 

Partners 

University of California, San Francisco 

23andMe 

Tanox 

The Data Incubator 

Epizyme 

BioLineRX 

New Link 

Carmot Therapeutic 

Pros and Cons 

According to research-based reviews on Glassdoor, the following are the pros and cons of the company as reviewed by its employees. 

Pros

Good compensation 

Friendly environment 

Great people  

Work/life balance 

Vision and passion for growth 

Cons 

Bureaucratic system of governance 

Poor management 

Consistent changes within the company 

Conclusion 

Interestingly, the biotechnology industry is relative a wide industry with a market share of $152.4 billion, and a prediction to increase in years to come, but despite the vastness of this industry, it has a few key players in the marketplace and as a result, the competition is relatively low. However, because the cost of producing products in this industry is somewhat low and the process less fatigue, some of its products have started to become competitive with Genentech products ranking on the top list. Finally, in this article, a lot has been reviewed extensively which are recognized as basic areas and important aspects of the company. Sections, including the company’s key facts and statistics, historical background, product offerings, the company’s business partners, as well as its pros and cons have been thoroughly addressed to enable you to have a broader view of the company. In view of this, I trust this piece has avail you some vital and deep insight into the company and that the information and data analyzed here would guide you in making rational and positive decisions if such a need arises.