South San Francisco officially designated April 7 as “Genentech Day” to commemorate the biotechnology giant’s 50th anniversary in the city.
The now-global firm was technically founded on April 7 in the 1970s in a warehouse in South San Francisco, a city historically known for its industrial and manufacturing sector, long before it was dubbed the “birthplace of biotechnology.” The company is now the city’s largest employer and boasts a massive campus, including a manufacturing facility, with 63 buildings.
Genentech has produced a number of medication therapies, including Rituxan, the first targeted antibody therapy for cancer approved in the United States, and Ocrevus, the first treatment for relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis, according to the resolution passed at a City Council meeting April 22.
“Being born and raised in South San Francisco, and really living in an environment of biotech is something that is really to be proud of,” Councilmember James Coleman said during the City Council meeting.
Coleman added that his father suffered an injury that caused him to be paralyzed for about 10 years, which largely inspired his decision to study human development and regenerative biology at Harvard University.
“I wanted to help … folks heal, especially those with traumatic injury,” he said. “I see so much of the work that Genentech and so many of the other biotech companies are doing. I see how Genentech came here 50 years ago and really blossomed into what our biotech industry east of [Highway] 101 is.”
Councilmember Flor Nicolas, who works in the biotech industry, presented the second half of the proclamation during the meeting.
Since Genentech’s founding, the city has attracted dozens of life science giants, such as AstraZeneca, Amgen and Abbvie, as well as small and midsized biotechnology firms.
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