Roche and Genentech. Now What?

There's a fascinating blog post by Ed Silverman dissecting the meaning of the Roche and Genentech affair. Here's a peek at the first two paragraphs:

The surprise bid by the big drugmaker caught a good many people off guard, including Genentech ceo Art Levinson, who is expected to meet with Roche chairman Franz Humer this evening to talk about integrating the two companies and who will play what role in making that happen. Roche, you may recall, already owns 56 percent of Genentech and plans to shift many operations to California.

Genentech, of course, has a different culture than Roche. One is a biotech, albeit a large one, that works to preserve an entrepreneurial mindset. The other is a lumbering drugmaker that favors traditional top-down edicts. So imagine Levinson’s surprise when he received a phone call Sunday night from Humer about the offer, as The Wall Street Journal reports.

I urge reading the rest here: http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/07/who-will-run-the-genentech-roche-s...