New Approaches to Discovery Push Research at Big Biotech

The biotechnology industry is among the biggest employers of life science professionals, with 140,000 employees generating $17.4 billion of revenue in 1997, according to an industry report by Ernst & Young LLP of Palo Alto, Calif. Since the birth of biotechnology in the 1970s, many of the seminal companies--such as Biogen and Genentech-- have matured into profitable or near- profitable companies. As these companies arose, venture capitalists fell in love with start-up biotechs in the 1980s

Written byJames Kling

| 6 min read

Save for Later

Listen with Speechify

0:00

6:00

As the industry matures, larger companies change their research focus to reflect the success of the industry, while smaller start-ups seek niches that will allow them to survive into the future. What follows is a snapshot of cutting-edge research at five of the biggest, most successful biotech companies. The summaries, by no means a complete overview of the research at each company, represent a glimpse of the technologies and discovery programs that could drive big biotech research and development into the 21st century.

MULTIPLE FRONTS: Genentech has five main areas of research: cardiovascular, molecular oncology, endocrinology, neurobiology, and immunology.

South San Francisco, Calif. Genentech divides its efforts into five departments: cardiovascular research, molecular oncology, endocrinology, neurobiology, and immunology. In particular, the company puts a lot of research dollars into cancer and cardiovascular diseases, such as clotting disorders and heart disease.

In the past, Genentech has put about 75 percent of ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member?