Roche-Genentech – the cuts begin – Anxiety rippled through Genentech this week as the Swiss drug firm Roche began to cut rank-and-file jobs as it folds the South San Francisco biotech firm into its global operations…more
Sciele-Victory link-up: Nah, guess not.
J&J, Vertex, and biodollars.
Merck gets expanded approval for HIV drug – The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it has approved expanded use of a Merck & Co. HIV drug, Isentress. Known chemically as raltegravir, it is now approved for treating new and existing patients with the virus that causes AIDS, in combination with other types of HIV drugs…more
Wyeth has the anti-aging market to itself, and didn’t know it!
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I worked for Syva Company on their EMIT Immunoassay testing instrumentation in the early and mid-80s. They were bought out by Roche, who immediately sent down a decree that henceforth all documentation would be printed in Helvetica font. Interesting choice for a Swiss oligopoly.
The publications department—my clients—mutinied. After spending several years developing and refining their corporate image through many design renovations, many chose the severance package rather than bend to the questionable dictates of their new masters.
I’ve also worked for Roche and Genentech. At Roche, casual Fridays means that men could skip the tie, and women could wear a pants suit rather than dress or skirt. At Genentech, socks were optional, espresso bars were on every floor, and casual Fridays meant the traditional “Ho-Ho,” basically a kegger party for all employees who cared to attend, with cab vouchers to anyone who imbibed too much to drive home, no matter how far away that may be. Their Christmas parties were extravagant, and there were many employee ski and rafting trips. Facial hair and earrings were not uncommon among men in middle and upper management. Genentech was also an early adaptor of Macs, and their IT department was known as the “Spoc” Bar. Roche is definitely PC. PC users can learn to use Macs; Mac users ask, “Why should I use a PC?” The divide could not be wider.
I can’t imagine how this marriage of corporate culture could possibly work. Roche cannot but help itself but to come in with a heavy hand on employe protocols. I fear that they will lose the best and brightest of the company they just acquired.