In a bid to maintain the Genentech culture, Roche plans to reward the biotech’s employees with more long-term stock options than the folks who work for the big drug maker. Severin Schwan, Roche’s ceo, says that reviewing Genentech pay is a top priority and wants to keep things “entrepreneurial” at Genentech, according to The Financial Times.

They must remain “attractive and relevant to the specific environment in California,” he told the paper, while dismissing talk that this year’s acquisition of Genentech, in which Roche held a majority stake, would result in a significant reduction in tax charges. Schwan also maintains that all opposition to the previously hostile bid by Genentech’s board had dissipated.

The move to offer more options to Genentech employees, of course, reflects Roche’s need to keep the biotech employees from leaving, a concern that has plagued Roche - and its investors - ever since the big drug maker launched its bid. Genentech is responsible for Roche’s biggest products.

Schwan told the paper that Roche offered stability by deferring changes in compensation until 2011, while indicating that after that date Genentech staff would continue to receive a far stronger incentive-based element to their pay than Roche employees in other countries.

“It’s irrelevant what I earn compared with my Californian peers,” he told the FT. “We are an innovation-driven company. If you want a person who always plays it safe, probably they should not work for Genentech. But I think it would be wrong to import the US system to the rest of the world.”