On Nov. 17, 1993, Genentech drug Nutropin was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of children with growth failure associated with chronic renal insufficiency. 

This was a key milestone for the company, as Nutropin was its latest version of recombinant human growth hormone at the time. Genentech’s first human growth hormone product, Protropin (somatrem), had been approved earlier in 1985.

The drug received additional approvals for other indications and formulations, including Nutropin AQ in 1995 and Nutropin Depot in 1999.