Genentech

From SourceWatch
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Genentech, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company and one of the world's most financially successful and biotechnology corporations. Genentech has three drugs that are billion-dollar sellers: Rituxan, for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; Avastin, for colorectal, non-small cell lung cancers, and treats macular degeneration; and Herceptin for breast cancer. It also manufactures the lung cancer drug Tarceva. Major customers for its drugs are AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. The Swiss drug company Roche, which previously owned a majority of stock in the San Francisco based firm, took full ownership in 2009.[1] According to its website, the company is "considered the founder of the biotechnology industry." [2]

In the fiscal year ending in December of 2008, Genentech had sales of 13.4 billion dollars and had 11,174 employees. [3]

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council

Genentech has been a corporate funder of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)[4][5]. See ALEC Corporations for more.

About ALEC
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC's operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy's ALECexposed.org, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site.

Dollars for Docs

Genentech has paid $388 million to 1,888 doctors, according to ProPublica's Dollars for Docs[6], including to industry consultant Dr. Peter Bach.[[1]]

Animal testing

Genentech does animal testing.

Facility information, progress reports & USDA-APHIS reports

For links to copies of a facility's U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Animal Plant Health Inspection (APHIS) reports, other information and links, see also Stop Animal Experimentation NOW!: Facility Reports and Information. This site contains listings for all 50 states, links to biomedical research facilities in that state and PDF copies of government documents where facilities must report their animal usage. (Search: Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, California.)

USDA AWA reports

As of May 26, 2009, the USDA began posting all inspection reports for animal breeders, dealers, exhibitors, handlers, research facilities and animal carriers by state. See also USDA Animal Welfare Inspection Reports.

Clinical trials

Toxic drug trials on foster children

See also foster child drug trials.

Selected staff & board

Former staff

Board

Executive compensation (2007)

Political Contributions

Genentech gave almost $400,000 to candidates in the 2008 election cycle through its political action committee (PAC).[16]

This is almost twice as much as in 2006, when it donated $201,500 to federal candidates. - 38% to Democrats and 57% to Republicans.[17]

Lobbying

According to Lisa Graves of the Center for Media and Democracy, a search of the 2009 Lobby Disclosure Act database for Genentech, revealed that the company spent over $3.7 million lobbying Congress on health care issues in the first three quarters on the year. The company spent over $2.1 million dollars on in-house lobbyists with the remainder going to outside firms such as the American Continental Group.[18]

Genetech's lobbying made the news after its talking points showed up in the statements submitted by several members of Congress to the Congressional Record (the official journal of congressional proceedings), during the 2009 health care reform debate. [19]

Contact

Genentech, Inc. 1 DNA Way
South San Francisco, CA 94080

Phone: 650-225-1000

Fax: 650-225-6000

Web address: http://www.gene.com

Articles & sources

Sourcewatch articles

References

  1. Company Description: Genentech, Hoovers, accessed December 2009
  2. About Us: Leading the Biotechnology Industry, Genentech, accessed July 2007
  3. Company Description: Genentech, Hoovers, accessed December 2009
  4. American Legislative Exchange Council, Keeping the Promise: Making Health Care Accessible and Affordable for All Americans, January 1993, archived in Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, accessed July 2011
  5. Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research, project of the Environmental Working Group, Information on American Legislative Exchange Council, archived organizational profile, archived by Wayback Machine December 2, 2000, accessed August 19, 2011
  6. Has Your Doctor Received Drug Company Money? - Genentech, Dollars for Docs, accessed April 2016
  7. Company Description: Genentech, Hoovers, accessed March 2010
  8. Board of Directors, Points of Light Foundation, accessed July 2007
  9. Board of Directors, Biogen Idec, accessed July 2007
  10. Board of Directors, Genentech, accessed July 2007
  11. Arthur D Levinson, Forbes, accessed December 2007.
  12. Susan D Desmond-Hellmann, Forbes, accessed December 2007.
  13. David A Ebersman, Forbes, accessed December 2007.
  14. Stephen G Juelsgaard, Forbes, accessed December 2007.
  15. Richard H Scheller, Forbes, accessed December 2007
  16. Genentech, Inc. Political Action Committee, CampaignMoney.com, accessed March 2010
  17. 2006 PAC Summary Data, Open Secrets, accessed December 2007.
  18. Lisa Graves Biotech's Ghostwriting Animates Congressional Speeches on Health Reform, Center for Media and Democracy, November 15, 2009.
  19. Robert Pear In House, Many Spoke with One Voice: Lobbyists, New York Times, November 2009