Genset Corporation

Genset

Company type	Public
Industry	Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical
Founded	1 January 1989 (1989-01-01) in Paris, France
Founder	Pascal Brandys (inaugural president)
Defunct	2002 (2002)
Fate	Acquired by Serono
Headquarters	Paris , France
Area served	Europe, United States, Japan, Singapore, Australia
Key people	Pascal Brandys (founding president)
Products	Genomics research, pharmacogenomics research, drug development

Genset, a firm specializing in biotechnology, was established in 1989 in Paris, France, with Pascal Brandys serving as its inaugural president.

The company became publicly traded on both the NASDAQ and the Paris Bourse.

History

In 1996, Genset secured listings on the NASDAQ and the Paris Bourse (currently known as NYSE Euronext). It rapidly emerged as a leading European entity in the field of genomics, ranking as the second-largest biotech company across Europe by 1999. At that point, its reported identifiable assets amounted to EUR 80.9 million, and it operated subsidiaries located in the United States, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. Genset was at the forefront of private sector human genome research. In 1994, the company initiated the first extensive program aimed at analyzing human genome regulatory sequences, and by 1997, it had started developing a map of single nucleotide polymorphisms to facilitate gene identification linked to diseases. Additionally, Genset innovated the business model of pharmacogenomics, launching the world’s initial pharmacogenomics research initiative through a partnership with Abbott Laboratories in 1997.

Following the year 2000, Genset redirected its focus toward drug development, which coincided with the exit of its president and founding members. This change in strategic direction did not yield success and ultimately led to its acquisition by Swiss-based Serono in 2002. Subsequently, Serono became part of Merck Serono after Merck acquired Serono in 2006.