At Icos, there was an on-site day care center to make it easier for working parents to pull long hours in the lab. There was a tolerance for different personal styles, even when that meant a certain scientist could roam the labs with no shirt on. And nobody ever strangled anybody, at least as far as Patrick Gray could remember (unlike at Genentech).
We had an awesome time Tuesday night hearing stories about the culture at Bothell, WA-based Icos, and what made that company the success story it was in the 1990s and 2000s. These anecdotes were some of the highlights of “The Icos Impact,” which drew about 200 people to the Institute for Systems Biology. The turnout for this event was a testament to the camaraderie people feel in the Icos alumni network, since this company had only 500 local employees at its peak.
Here are a few photos that I snapped from the festivities, which include Icos alumni and folks who crossed paths with Icosahedrons in various ways. Enjoy.
