13 Facts To Celebrate Genentech’s 40th Birthday

I came across an article that celebrated Genentech’s 40 years in business with a few fun facts and stories about the biotechnology pioneer:

1. Founded on April 7, 1976
2. The name Genentech stems from GENetic ENgineering TECHnology
3. The company was founded with a $1,000 investment in 1976 by Robert Swanson, a venture capitalist, and Herbert Boyer, a researcher from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
4. Genentech was acquired by Roche in 2009
5. The company currently employees approximately 14,000 employees

In addition to being the father of the biotech industry, the company continues to make history with its innovative character. Last year, I highlighted several “firsts” that showcase their continued leadership:

6. First biotech to offer a choice of PC or Mac
7. First to roll out iPhones
8. First to implement Salesforce.com
9. First to implement Salesforce.com with an iPhone mobile app
10. First to create their own internal AppStore
11. First to offer signature capture on the iPhone
12. First biotech and large global company to roll out Google Apps (mail, calendar, drive, hangouts) to 80,000 users worldwide
13. Ranked #1 in the first-ever ranking of companies with strong precision medicine programs

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If that’s not enough, prior to being acquired by Roche, Genentech had the best stock ticker ever: DNA.

Here’s to many more years, Genentech!