A Testament To Biopharma's Transparent Leaders: And A Previously Unpublished Regeneron Article Sidebar

By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @RfwrightLSL

My goal when sitting down to interview George Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., founder, president, and CEO of Regeneron, was to develop an intriguing article worthy of being the cover feature for our June 2018 issue. Mission accomplished. But as I found myself reviewing the transcript of the discussion that wound through his career and his willingness to transparently share interesting stories about his life and business experiences, I found myself desiring to create additional content. For example, I developed My 10 Favorite Quotes From George Yancopoulos, a blog that was posted on April 24. (My personal favorite happens to be #10, by the way.) In addition, I also put together two Beyond The Printed Page articles —  3 Questions With Regeneron's Chief Scientific Officer — George Yancopoulos (posted on May 14) and More Questions About Regeneron’s Approach To Blue-Sky Research (which is scheduled to go live on May 21). And as we began the process of laying out the feature article for the print publication, we found we didn’t have room for one of the sidebars. As such, I decided to create a second blog, making this article number five — from only one 60-minute interview.

Such article productivity isn’t always the case from my interviews. But when it has happened, it’s typically a testament to the leader being interviewed, and their willingness to share their thoughts, stories, and insights very transparently. Our goal at Life Science Leader is to develop biopharmaceutical industry focused articles that share best business practices that provide actionable information to you, our readers. To do that requires building trust with executives so they will openly share about their foibles and the mistakes made along the way, for it is rare (never) that any initiative ever goes off without a hitch. For example, in an upcoming issue you will hear from the CEO of Dermira, Tom Wiggans, who transparently shares his experiences with more than one Phase 3 clinical trial failure. Wiggans willingness to discuss the situation so openly demonstrates a leadership characteristic I believe our industry could benefit from having more of — especially if we plan to rebuild our broken image.

So without further ado, here is the story describing the unusual genesis of the Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC).

The Unusual Genesis Of The Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC)

It all began in 2010 with a chance meeting between two scientists on an airplane. Aris Economides, then executive director of genome engineering technologies and skeletal diseases at Regeneron, and David Galas, who was then at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, were seated next to one another. Each noticed the other was reading a scientific journal, so they struck up a conversation. Economides soon realized that not only were they both going to the same conference, but he was sitting next to one of the authors of an article he had just been reading. The paper highlighted how the technology and cost revolution in genomics would make it possible to fully recognize the potential of genomics in drug discovery, and knowledge gleaned from sequencing would not only drive the future of precision medicine but biopharmaceutical R&D to deliver personalized treatments. The conversation sparked the kernel of an idea for the RGC. But like most ideas, it had to go through a series of revisions and overcome a variety of roadblocks. For example, in 2012, deCODE, a leading company in analyzing and understanding the human genome, was acquired by Amgen. This changed the genetics industry landscape, necessitating Regeneron to create a strategy for bringing deCODE-type competencies in house.

In 2013, the Regeneron team, then known internally as the Human Genetics Initiative (HGI), began mapping out a scientific strategy, collaboration, and operational plan, which included hiring. “We brought in some of the most talented and genius young scientists to begin the build,” Yancopoulos shares. “The RGC is like a little biotech company within a bigger biotech and is solely focused on harnessing the capability of not only doing human gene sequencing but doing so in people with incredibly detailed health records.” Officially launched in January 2014, a key to executing on the RGC vision involved collaboration with Geisinger, a health system widely recognized for its innovative use of electronic health records. “Unlike most U.S. insurers that only insure people for a couple of years and have little interest in prevention, Geisinger has an interest in keeping patients healthy so they require less health services in the future.” Yancopoulos says such progressive “blue-sky” thinking meshed well with the Regeneron culture. “Like us, Geisinger believes that not only can we use Big Data on a large scale and incorporate sequencing into a patient’s health record, but such an effort could lead to new discoveries, pathways, and targets.”