Genentech: Encouraging innovation

Genentech is the only drug company to offer a postdoc program; just one reason it's No. 7 on the Best Companies to Work For list.

EMAIL  |   PRINT  |   SHARE  |   RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
By Christopher Tkaczyk, reporter
Last Updated: September 29, 2009: 1:48 PM ET

genentech_chiefs.03.jpg
Research chiefs Richard Scheller, left, and Marc Tessier-Lavigne, framed by Genentech's founders
lori_friedman.03.jpg
Why I work here
Lori Friedman, cancer researcher at Genentech
"People are very motivated to think of the endgame. How do we make the right drug? How's this going to help the patient? And I think it's that sense of mission that really brings people together in the community of researchers here."

(Fortune Magazine) -- Genentech, the South San Francisco biotech company, has a long history of developing revolutionary drugs like cancer fighter Avastin. But such breakthroughs are no accident -- they're a result of a culture that puts a premium on curiosity and creativity.

Perhaps the best example: Genentech is the only pharmaceutical company to offer a postdoctoral program, where up to 120 Ph.D. holders are awarded fellowships for four years. Rather than work on drug-related projects, these brainiacs are encouraged to follow their interests and focus on fundamental research that could later apply to potential products.

Though the company was recently acquired by Swiss drugmaker Roche, its approach to fostering innovation hasn't changed. Richard Scheller, Genentech's head of research, explains how the company keeps innovation flowing.

Refresh talent often.
"The postdoc program keeps a constant flux of young people with different backgrounds and technologies moving through Genentech. This keeps the real innovative, entrepreneurial, creative spirit around Genentech research. It rubs off on everyone in the group."

Encourage risk taking.
"People are encouraged to work on projects that are high risk. We expect that the projects might not work -- in fact, most of them won't. But those that do work often end up being true breakthroughs."

Share your results.
"We always have a number of key papers in the top scientific journals every year, comparable to major institutions around the world, such as MIT, Stanford, and Harvard. So the outside world has a respect for Genentech that is quite different from that for other pharmaceutical companies."

Perks that work

Retention pay
As a result of the Roche merger, employees hired as of Aug. 18, 2008 who remained with the company received retention bonuses. Some 11,000 employees shared $182 million. A second round of retention bonuses is planned for March 2010, a year following the deal's completion.

Fun competitions
A photo-of-the-week competition -- combined with creative costumes -- inspires a dose of frivolity. One group dressed up as the rock band Kiss for a corporate meeting.

Concierge
A service is available to help employees secure dinner reservations or theater tickets, as well as run other errands. Spouses and partners can also use the benefit.

Clean clothes (and teeth)
An onsite laundry and dry-cleaning pickup and delivery service handles 3,000 articles of clothing a month; an onsite health van offers a state-of-the-art dentist's office. To top of page

Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More
Sponsors
Worry about the hackers you don't know 
Crime syndicates and government organizations pose a much greater cyber threat than renegade hacker groups like Anonymous. Play
GE CEO: Bringing jobs back to the U.S. 
Jeff Immelt says the U.S. is a cost competitive market for advanced manufacturing and that GE is bringing jobs back from Mexico. Play
Hamster wheel and wedgie-powered transit 
Red Bull Creation challenges hackers and engineers to invent new modes of transportation. Play

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.