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Overview
Founded more than 35 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat patients with serious or life-threatening medical conditions. The company, a member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco, California. For more information about us, including our mission and values, please click here.
Key Products Genentech has multiple products on the market for serious or life-threatening medical conditions. In March 2009, Genentech became a member of the Roche Group, and Genentech now serves as the headquarters for all Roche pharmaceutical operations in the United States. Accordingly, the list below includes products which were previously marketed as Roche products that are now being marketed by Genentech in the United States. BioOncology
Avastin® (bevacizumab) Immunology and Ophthalmology
ACTEMRA® (tocilizumab) Metabolism & Primary Care
Activase® (Alteplase) Virology & Specialty Care
CellCept® (mycophenolate mofetil) Other Products
Anaprox® (naproxen sodium) Medicine Development at Genentech Genentech has an extensive track record in all phases of bringing new disease treatments to patients — from discovery research through clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization. With multiple protein-based products on the market for serious or life-threatening medical conditions, Genentech has experience taking a drug from A to Z, transforming the seed of an idea in a lab into a novel therapy for a patient in need. Discovery Research Research is the wellspring of potential products, and Genentech's research organization is among the world's finest. Genentech's approximately 1,100 researchers and scientists and 125 postdocs consistently publish important papers in prestigious peer-reviewed journals and are among the top researchers in the world in terms of total citations. In addition, Genentech's scientists have secured approximately 10,500 current, non-expired patents worldwide and have approximately 7,000 patent applications pending worldwide. Discovery research at Genentech focuses primarily on Oncology, Immunology, Metabolism, Neuroscience, and Infectious Disease. To ensure continued scientific excellence, in October 1992 Genentech opened the Founders Research Center, a 275,000 square-foot, $85 million research facility devoted solely to biotechnology. It was dedicated to Bob Swanson and Dr. Herbert Boyer in honor of their pursuit of the promise of biotechnology when they established Genentech in 1976. In April 2001, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary by breaking ground on a 280,000 square foot expansion of the Founders Research Center. Completed in 2003, the complex houses specialized laboratories and state-of-the-science equipment in several interconnected buildings. Product Development Genentech uses an extensive set of criteria, including scientific rationale and medical need, to determine which projects to move from discovery research into development. Our clinical scientists and medical professionals then perform the essential role of translating basic science into patient benefit. They help Genentech determine which potential new drugs are tested against specific diseases in the clinic and guide chosen drug candidates through the many phases of clinical testing. Genentech is dedicated to evaluating its therapies in rigorous randomized trials. Our approach is to put a drug candidate through tough clinical testing in order to demonstrate its potential benefit as a therapeutic. Genentech's development pipeline includes multiple projects targeting a range of disease areas across all phases of clinical development. Manufacturing Genentech was the first biotechnology company to scale up protein manufacturing successfully from the small quantities used for research to the much larger quantities needed for clinical trials and marketing. Genentech is a world leader in biotech manufacturing, with more FDA-approved manufacturing capacity for the production of biotech medicines than any other company. Over the last two decades, Genentech has built world-class production facilities, developed expertise in commercially viable manufacturing processes and also attracted and retained key personnel with experience in all aspects of large-scale biologics manufacturing. Genentech's manufacturing expertise and capacity (approximately 330,000 liters of installed fermentation capacity) provide important competitive advantages in the maturing biotechnology industry and position the company well to meet the demands of its promising product pipeline. Genentech currently has three manufacturing facilities in California (South San Francisco, Vacaville and Oceanside). Genentech acquired an Oceanside, California biologics manufacturing facility in June 2005 and received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensure in April 2007. The Oceanside Campus comprises multi-product biotech manufacturing operations. In September 2006, Genentech purchased a 75-acre property in Hillsboro, Oregon for the construction and development of a new state-of-the-art Fill/Finish Facility. Genentech broke ground on the 150,000 square feet facility in December 2006. In April 2010, this facility was officially inaugurated. Commercialization The commercial group plays a crucial role in bringing Genentech's therapies to our customers by transforming our scientific innovations into changes in the practice of medicine that enhance and extend patients' lives. The group's primary focus is to market and sell novel, targeted therapies for disease areas with unmet needs. The development and implementation of commercial strategies involves collaboration across a variety of teams with dedicated expertise. These dialogues are supported by intensive market planning to ensure thoughtful understanding of each therapeutic area and customer group and by ongoing examination of broad healthcare marketplace trends. Product Pipeline To balance resource use with the strongest likelihood of success, Genentech continuously evaluates its pipeline products in order to determine which are the most promising projects to move through the many phases of clinical testing. Genentech's development pipeline continues to grow, with multiple promising projects in the following therapeutic focus areas: oncology, immunology, metabolism, neuroscience and infectious diseases. The pipeline includes both breakthrough innovations and new indications for existing, well-understood products that may fight more than one disease or more than one form of a disease. Oncology Oncology remains the major focus of Genentech's research organization, with our scientists working to characterize tumor antigens that may be useful in fighting various forms of cancer as well as expanding our expertise about HER pathway, angiogenesis and apoptosis. Immunology Immunology is a growing area of expertise and emphasis for Genentech, and we are developing several potential therapies for immune-related diseases. The range of diseases involving the immune and inflammatory cells is immense, and there is a pressing need for safer and more effective therapies. Metabolism The mission of the Metabolism Department is to enable the discovery, selection, and development of safe and effective medicines for significant unmet medical needs by elucidating the absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and pharmacokinetic properties of small molecule drug candidates. Neuroscience Neuroscience is a growing focus area for Genentech. The mission of the Neuroscience Department is to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms underlying the biology and the diseases of the nervous system, and to translate these discoveries into innovative therapies for neurological disorders. Infectious Disease The advent of viral infections, the threat of pandemics, and the emergence of antibiotic resistance have made clear the enormity of the unmet medical need in microbial pathogenesis. The department of Infectious Disease was formed to meet this need by harnessing the current explosion of new information about the basic biology of pathogens and host responses for the development of novel therapeutics to combat serious infections. Employees Genentech employees consistently cite the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of patients as the primary reason they enjoy working at the company. We place great value on our approximately 11,600 dedicated and mission-driven employees and reward them accordingly with a comprehensive and diverse set of benefits and services. The company has consistently been recognized as a top employer by such publications as FORTUNE, Science and Working Mother. In January 2011, FORTUNE named Genentech to its annual list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" for the 13th consecutive year. About Genentech Access Solutions Genentech is committed to people having access to our medicines. Genentech Access Solutions is a team of 350 Genentech employees who help those who need Genentech medicines. This team works with patients and doctors to resolve reimbursement and insurance issues and provides assistance to eligible patients in the United States who do not have insurance coverage or who cannot afford their out-of-pocket co-pay costs. Since its first medicine was approved in 1985, Genentech has donated approximately $2.3 billion in free Genentech medicine to the uninsured through the Genentech® Access to Care Foundation (GATCF) and other product donation programs. The household income limit to receive free medicine through GATCF is $100,000 per year. Since 2005, Genentech has also donated approximately $550 million to various independent, non-profit organizations that provide financial assistance to those who cannot access needed medical treatment due to co-pay costs. |
