The advent of recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology created unprecedented opportunities to develop and market a new type of medicine. Genentech was the first company to take this promising but untried technology into the business world and thus started the multibillion-dollar biotechnology industry.
In 1973, Herbert
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In 1982, Genentech licensed the right to market human insulin, the first drug made by recombinant DNA technology, to Eli Lilly, and in 1985, Genentech received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to market its first product, Protropin (somatrem, a polypeptide hormone), for children with growth hormone deficiency. In the following years, it has created other products using DNA recombinant technology to treat diseases and conditions, including cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, heart attack, cystic fibrosis, allergic asthma, plaque psoriasis, and macular degeneration.
In 2007, Genentech’s net income was $2.8 billion, a 31 percent increase from the previous year, and its total operating revenue was $11.7 billion, a 26 percent increase from the previous year. Its diluted earnings per share were $2.79, a 31 percent increase from 2006.
Food and Drug Administration
Genetic engineering
Health care industry
Industrial research
Patent law
Pharmaceutical industry