Company Analysis - Genentech
By the power of grey cells
Genentech was founded in 1976 by Dr Herbert W Boyer, a professor from the University of California, and Robert A Swanson, a daring venture capitalist, following a laidback San Francisco-style meeting between the two in Churchill's, a bar near the University. Swanson, excited by cutting edge developments in DNA research, contacted Boyer, a pioneer in the field of recombinant DNA technology, and both saw huge potential in developing technology based on molecular biology, a groundbreaking move away from the established models in the drug development industry. This meeting, which led to the foundation of Genentech, was also a landmark in the foundation of the entire biotech industry. Today, Genentech has the biggest market capitalization in biotech at US $88 billion, with an incredible reputation in drug development, especially in oncology, and a number of blockbuster drugs under its belt.
Genentech has a remarkable reputation as an employer, appearing in the Fortune Magazine's top 100 best companies to work for list for nine consecutive years, occupying the prized number one slot in 2006. The reasons for this success may well be attributed to a workplace ethos that encourages events such as Genentech's 30th anniversary celebrations, where 10,000 guests were entertained by the Foo Fighters, the Eagles, the Black Eyed Peas and the legendary Bob Dylan, in a huge outdoor event. The Nobel prize-winning co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, James Watson, was also in attendance, and was presented with a US $2.5 million cheque to fulfil his dream of creating an archive to preserve historical advances in genetics. The scale of this event was impressive and reflected the strengths and roots of Genentech - the science, and the people behind it.
