City Of Hope National Medical Center Awarded $300,164,030 In Lawsuit Against Genentech, Inc.

City of Hope
Monday, 10 June 2002

City of Hope National Medical Center has been awarded $300,164,030.00 in compensatory damages by a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury as a result of its lawsuit against Genentech, Inc. (DNA: NYSE). The jury found that Genentech breached a 1976 contract with City of Hope. This contract relates to the research of Arthur Riggs, Ph.D., and Keiichi Itakura, Ph.D., that led to the creation, among other things, of synthetic insulin, or Humulin®, the world's first biotechnology drug. This discovery at City of Hope ushered in the dawn of the biotech age.

In addition to determining that Genentech breached its contract with City of Hope, the jury also determined that Genentech breached its fiduciary duty to City of Hope by concealing the existence of third-party licenses of the Riggs-Itakura patents from City of Hope.

The jury also decided that Genentech's concealment was fraudulent. The jury will now hear evidence and deliberate on possible punitive damages against Genentech, which would be in addition to the compensatory damages.

"Our attorneys did an excellent job in presenting our case and we are very pleased that the jury agreed with our position," said Gil N. Schwartzberg, president and chief executive officer of City of Hope.

It is expected that Genentech will appeal the jury's compensatory judgment and that could delay the payment to City of Hope for an extended period. When received, the verdict payment will be used to further City of Hope's humanitarian mission of conducting biomedical research aimed at curing life-threatening diseases.

Schwartzberg said that collaborations between private industry and City of Hope are critically important and will continue. In addition to Humulin®, City of Hope has licensed its groundbreaking monoclonal antibody technology to Genentech. This technology is used in the manufacture of the medications Herceptin® and Rituxan®, two of the most promising cancer drugs available today.

For more information, or to contact City of Hope, see their website at: www.cityofhope.org