Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech
Sally Smith Hughes, a historian of science, tells how Genentech began in the 1970s when a venture capitalist named Robert Swanson and a biochemist named Herbert Boyer bet that genetic engineering could be turned into a business. The book traces the company's early years, from cloning human insulin to its blockbuster 1980 stock offering, and shows how it bridged the gap between university labs and Wall Street. Hughes draws on extensive interviews to capture both the science and the personalities, explaining how one startup helped create an entire industry. It is regarded as the definitive account of Genentech's origins.
What you might want to know about Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
The founding story of Genentech, the company that turned recombinant DNA research into the modern biotech industry.
Yes. Patrick Collison calls it the definitive history of Genentech on his Silicon Valley history page.
Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech was written by Sally Smith Hughes, published in 2011 by University of Chicago Press.
Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech is 232 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech takes most readers 3 to 5 hours to finish.
Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.