Genentech, Inc.
NEWS
Genentech is letting go of 118 employees in South San Francisco. The news comes about two months after the biotech ended a partnership with Adaptive Biotechnologies.
The anti-CD20 antibody, developed by Roche’s Genentech along with Biogen and already approved for multiple oncology indications, is branching into autoimmune disease. Its B cell–targeting mechanism of action gives it activity in improving kidney conditions in patients with lupus nephritis.
The latest round of terminations, which will take effect Sept. 15, comes after Genentech fired more than 500 employees in the last 15 months.
Roche and Genentech were unable to sufficiently demonstrate the benefit of using Columvi in an earlier treatment setting for DLBCL in a U.S. population, according to the FDA.
California’s life sciences manufacturing jobs dipped 3.7% in 2024, according to a new Biocom California report. Still, several companies made—and continuing making—significant manufacturing investments in the state as key trends shape the discipline.
The downsizing comes after a year of workforce cuts and reorganization for Roche’s subsidiary.
Roche, along with Bristol Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk, AbbVie, Eli Lilly and others, is making inroads into molecular glues to use in cancer, immunology and other applications.
The ODAC cited concerns with patient populations in clinical trials used to support the proposed expansion. Johnson & Johnson fared better, with the FDA’s cancer advisors voting to recommend Darzalex in patients with a certain type of multiple myeloma.
Roche’s asthma drug Xolair appears to be safer and more effective than oral immunotherapy at treating adults and children with one or more food allergies.
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