Genentech

Genentech was founded in 1976 in South San Francisco by Herbert Boyer and Robert Swanson, becoming the first company to produce human insulin using recombinant DNA technology and essentially launching the modern biotechnology industry. Acquired by Roche in 2009 for $46.8 billion, Genentech continues to operate with significant R&D autonomy as the US hub for Roche's pharmaceutical innovation.\n\nThe company is best known for pioneering cancer biologics, developing Herceptin (trastuzumab) for HER2-positive breast cancer, Avastin (bevacizumab) for multiple cancers, Rituxan (rituximab) for lymphoma, and Tecentriq (atezolizumab) for PD-L1 immunotherapy. Its discovery engine spans oncology, neuroscience, ophthalmology, and immunology with a robust early-stage pipeline leveraging AI-assisted target identification.\n\nGenentech generates tens of billions in annual revenue through Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division and remains one of the most productive biotech research sites in the world, consistently ranked among top employers in life sciences. The South San Francisco campus employs over 13,000 scientists, clinicians, and engineers, anchoring the Bay Area as a global biotech hub.