Love of science, passion for people -- David Broad speaks of life at Genentech

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Saturday, February 16, 2008 8:06 PM PST ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- Science and people fascinate David Broad.

As manager of Oceanside's first biotech manufacturing plant, Broad oversaw the facility under three companies, from its design with Idec Pharmaceuticals to its construction under Biogen Idec and finally production of the cancer drug Avastin under Genentech.

During those eight years, Broad became a highly visible presence in North County. He encouraged Genentech employees to shop at Oceanside businesses and help with volunteer projects. He encouraged students to study science and awarded scholarships to the most promising.

Recently retired from his job, Broad said he is taking a breather while deciding what he wants to do next. While he's not sure exactly what he'll do, Broad, a Rancho Santa Fe resident, said he expects to stay here.

Asked why, the soft-spoken Broad gave a simple answer in a recent interview with the North County Times.

"Just look out the window!" said Broad, who speaks with a slight burr, courtesy of his Scottish mother.

The day was bright and clear at the Oceanside plant, where Broad was interviewed.

Weather is hardly the only tie to North County for Broad, a Rancho Santa Fe resident. Broad's son, Joe, attends MiraCosta College. Broad and his wife, Tina, enjoy leisurely walks around North County.

Broad's work in the community has made him highly regarded among the region's business and educational community. Genentech is known for its policy of being a good corporate citizen wherever it has offices. It is highly regarded as a good employer. On Jan. 22, Fortune magazine named Genentech one of the best 100 companies to work for, the 10th consecutive time Genentech has made the list.

But local leaders say Broad made it clear that Genentech's programs of building ties with businesses and encouraging education are also close to his heart.

Friend to Oceanside
Jim Wood, Oceanside's mayor, said he considers Broad a good friend in a professional sense, linked by their interests in the well-being of Oceanside.

"Genentech has been a very good neighbor to the city of Oceanside. David and his staff have been the main reason for that," Wood said. "He's not only been (managing a business) that hires people and helps sponsor students at schools, but he has certainly given a lot back to the community, in funds and money."

Genentech hasn't waited for requests for help, Wood said, Broad and his staff volunteer and called to ask how they can help. They not only give money, but their own labor, he said.

"A lot of people from Genentech would show up and paint a neighborhood or paint a wall," Wood said. "David has certainly been the tip of that lance and been a great, great, neighbor to Oceanside and I consider him a good friend. He always followed through."

Broad said that sort of involvement came about from the desire of the employees to work closely with the Oceanside community. He designed programs to meet that need. One was last November's Volunteer Day, in which 200 Genentech employees took the day off to do charitable work for groups like Casa de Amparo and Habitat for Humanity.

"It's OK giving money to charity or whatever, but we want to participate," Broad said. "The employees wanted to be more involved."

Science advocate
Broad said his favorite way to get involved is by helping with education, especially science education. Science has been part of his life since he fell in love with the field as a boy.

"I had an older cousin, she was 18, and she was the first person in our family ever to go into college," Broad said. "She really helped me. She even used to send me lab equipment."

Just as his cousin helped him, Broad said, he likes helping today's youth cultivate a science interest. Much of his work is with MiraCosta College, which developed a biotech training program with Genentech's help.

Broad's passion for education fits in with Genentech's vision. The company is driven by science from its highest ranks. Arthur D. Levinson, Genentech's chairman and chief executive since 1995, holds a doctorate in biochemistry from Princeton University.

Genentech needs educated employees not only to research its products, but to make them. The Oceanside manufacturing plant produces Avastin, which treats metastatic colorectal cancer and advanced non small-cell lung cancer. The manufacturing process demands precise attention to detail, and employees need training to do so.

Moreover, Genentech prefers to hire locally, making its partnership with the local educational community even more important.

Bringing in people to Southern California, with its high cost of living, is difficult, said Mike Fino, who heads MiraCosta's biotech program. So it makes sense to recruit from the area, he said.

Broad helped MiraCosta form its biotech program by becoming a personal advocate and encouraging employees to help, Fino said.

MiraCosta is one of seven centers for biotech training affiliated with the National Center for the Biotechnology Workforce. The college has a training facility on its Oceanside campus that teaches skills needed to work in biotech manufacturing plants such as Genentech's.

"He empowered everybody that worked with him and around him to help develop the educational programs," Fino said of Broad. "He was just absolutely set on seeing this (training center) come through."

Broad said he admires the American educational system, because it is based on merit and opportunity.

"That's why I'm pretty heavily involved with MiraCosta," Broad said. "I believe passionately that everybody should have a chance at a good education. I think that's been one of the great things in America, the community colleges. Everybody has a chance to live the American dream if they get education."

Coming to America
Broad, 54, grew up in Plymouth, a smallish coastal city in southwest England. As he grew up and completed his education, Broad said, he wanted to live in a more urban environment.

"It's only 240 miles from London, which in American terms isn't very far, but in UK terms in those days was a long distance."

Broad attended the University of London, where he earned a doctorate in microbiology.

"I liked the courses and the people, and to be honest, I wanted to get to London," he said.

Broad became a pharmaceutical research scientist while in the United Kingdom. He moved to America in 1993, with his wife and 3-year-old son when he was hired at Cell Genesys, a South San Francisco biotech company.

"I was working at a biotech company in the UK, and prospects were pretty limited in the UK, biotech-wise. It was fortuitous that I got a call from a recruiter," Broad said. "My son was young enough; he was not yet in the school system, so we just decided to go for it."

The job was to build a manufacturing plant for Cell Genesys. He stayed with the company until 2000, when he was hired by Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp, to do the same thing.

In 2003, Idec merged with Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Inc. to form Biogen Idec. Broad stayed with the merged company as plant development and construction went forward. Then in 2005 Biogen Idec sold the plant to Genentech for $408 million.

Broad and his crew stayed with the plant under Genentech, as their expertise was needed to complete it. Not only did the job remain the same, Broad said, but Biotech Idec and Genentech share similar beliefs about corporate community involvement.

For that matter, American companies share an attitude toward business, Broad says, an urge to innovate that he admires.

"The CEO of a company I was working for, he called it 'the big sin,'" Broad said. The big sin in the UK is to try and fail. The big sin in the U.S. is not to try."

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.