Regeneron: The 23-Year Gamble on Science

Discover how Regeneron transformed from a struggling startup into a biotech titan through a 'follow the science' philosophy and revolutionary mouse technology.[INTRO]ALEX: Imagine spending twenty-three years and over one and a half billion dollars on a business that hasn't made a single cent in profit. Most investors would have sprinted for the exits, but for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, that was just the warm-up act.JORDAN: Wait, twenty-three years of burning cash? That’s not a business; that’s a very expensive hobby. How did they not go under?ALEX: They survived because the founders had a almost fanatical belief in their own lab results. Today, they are a multi-billion-dollar giant responsible for the drugs that saved millions of people from blindness and even created the antibody cocktail used to treat a sitting U.S. President during the pandemic.JORDAN: So they went from the brink of total collapse to being a household name. I want to know how you keep the lights on for two decades without a product.[CHAPTER 1 - Origin]ALEX: It started in 1988 at a high-end Chinese restaurant in New York. Dr. Leonard Schleifer, a neurologist, sat down with George Yancopoulos, a 28-year-old scientific prodigy who was basically the LeBron James of molecular biology.JORDAN: A neurologist and a wunderkind walk into a restaurant. What was the pitch? ALEX: The name tells the story: Regeneron. They wanted to regenerate neurons to cure diseases like ALS. They raised a million dollars from Merrill Lynch and set up shop in Tarrytown, New York, far away from the traditional biotech hubs of Boston or San Francisco.JORDAN: Bold move. But I'm guessing the 'regenerating brains' thing didn't go as planned?ALEX: Not even close. Their early trials were high-profile disasters. They spent the entire 1990s as the 'near-death' company, watching as one neurological drug after another failed in clinical trials, burning through hundreds of millions of dollars with nothing to show for it.JORDAN: How did they stay afloat? Usually, when the science fails, the VC money evaporates.ALEX: They had two things going for them: incredible charisma and a pivot. They realized their technology for blocking proteins was actually better suited for eyes and inflammation than for the brain. They stopped trying to fix the mind and started looking at the rest of the body.[CHAPTER 2 - Core Story]JORDAN: Okay, so they pivot. But how do you go from 'failing brain company' to 'pharma titan'? What was the secret weapon?ALEX: It’s a mouse. Specifically, a genetically engineered mouse they call VelocImmune. They essentially swapped out the mouse’s immune system for a human one.JORDAN: You’re telling me their entire multi-billion dollar empire is built on a lab mouse?ALEX: Exactly. When you inject a disease-causing protein into these mice, they don't produce mouse antibodies; they produce fully human ones. This allowed Regeneron to discover new drugs at a speed the rest of the industry couldn't touch. It cut years off the trial-and-error process.JORDAN: So the mouse does the heavy lifting, then they just harvest the results? ALEX: Precisely. This led to their first massive hit in 2011: Eylea. It was a drug for wet age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness. Before Eylea, the options were grim. Suddenly, Regeneron had a 'blockbuster' that was generating billions of dollars almost overnight.JORDAN: I remember seeing that name everywhere during the pandemic, though. How did they jump from eye doctor offices to the evening news?ALEX: That was the ultimate test of their 'speed' philosophy. When COVID-19 hit, they used that same mouse technology to find the most powerful antibodies against the virus. In October 2020, when then-President Donald Trump was hospitalized with COVID, he was treated with Regeneron’s experimental cocktail. He called it a 'miracle cure.'JORDAN: That is some wild marketing you can't buy. But I bet a 'miracle cure' developed that fast isn't cheap.ALEX: You hit the nail on the head. That success brought them right into the crosshairs of the drug pricing debate. The COVID treatment cost the government about $1,250 per dose, and their eye drug, Eylea, costs about $1,850 per injection. JORDAN: There’s the catch. They spent 23 years losing money, so I’m guessing they’re trying to make it all back as fast as possible?ALEX: That’s the tension. They argue that without those high prices, they could never afford the decades of failed research that led to the breakthroughs. But critics see a company that uses aggressive patent lawyers to block cheaper generic versions of their drugs from hitting the market.[CHAPTER 3 - Why It Matters]JORDAN: So, looking at them now, is Regeneron just another 'Big Pharma' company, or are they actually different?ALEX: They’re unique because they’re still led by the same two guys who started it in 1988. Most biotech companies get bought out or the founders get pushed out by professional CEOs. Schleifer and Yancopoulos have stayed for 35 years.JORDAN: That’s unheard of. Usually, once the stock price hits a certain level, the founders go buy an island and disappear.ALEX: Not these two. They’ve built a 'science-first' culture where they even have a company mascot called the 'Velocisaurus.' They also spend a hundred million dollars a year sponsoring the Science Talent Search for high school students, basically trying to find the next version of themselves.JORDAN: It sounds like they’ve built a permanent engine for drug discovery, as long as people can afford the fuel.ALEX: Exactly. They’ve moved into treating everything from severe eczema with their drug Dupixent to rare forms of cancer. They've proven that if you have the right platform—and enough patience—you can eventually change the world of medicine.[OUTRO]JORDAN: Okay, Alex, if I’m at a dinner party and Regeneron comes up, what’s the one thing I need to remember?ALEX: Remember that they are the company that proved 'biotech' is a long game—they spent 23 years failing until a genetically engineered mouse turned them into the heroes of the pandemic.JORDAN: That’s a hell of a comeback story. That’s Wikipodia — every story, on demand. Search your next topic at wikipodia.ai.