OTHER NEWS - Aug. 17, 1994

Genentech Disagrees With Allegations: The South San Francisco-based company, which has become tangled in an extensive federal investigative web, denied charges that it used illegal marketing practices to increase sales of its growth hormone drug Protropin. The comments follow yesterday’s announcement by the Food and Drug Administration that it will investigate claims by Rep. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) that Genentech Inc. illegally marketed the drug for off-label, or non-FDA-approved, uses. Company spokeswoman Laura Leber said Genentech “adamantly disagrees” with Wyden’s allegations. She said a similar FDA investigation in 1992 found no evidence of any illegal conduct.