Who Founded Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.?

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals began in 1988 when Leonard S. Schleifer, a neurologist who had completed his M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of Virginia and a residency at Johns Hopkins, left a faculty position at Cornell Medical College to start a biotechnology company based on a novel scientific hypothesis: that neurotrophic factors could be developed as therapies for neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Schleifer recruited George D. Yancopoulos, a brilliant immunologist who had earned his M.D. and Ph.D. from Columbia University and was completing his fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, to join as co-founder and chief scientific officer. The two physician-scientists established their first laboratory in a converted industrial space in Tarrytown, New York, with initial funding from venture capital firms including Merrill Lynch Venture Capital and the partnership of legendary pharmaceutical executive P. Roy Vagelos, former CEO of Merck, who provided both capital and strategic mentorship. The company's name, Regeneron, was derived from the concept of 'regeneration' of neurons, reflecting the founders' original focus on nervous system repair. The early years were consumed by the development of a ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) program for ALS, which ultimately failed in Phase 3 clinical trials, a devastating setback that nearly bankrupted the company and forced a fundamental strategic reassessment. The CNTF failure, which occurred in the mid-1990s, taught Schleifer and Yancopoulos that their drug discovery platform was more valuable than any single therapeutic hypothesis, leading to the development of the VelocImmune mouse technology and a pivot toward antibody-based therapies across multiple disease areas. The company went public in 1991, raising $32 million through an initial public offering on the NASDAQ exchange, but the stock languished for years as investors questioned whether the science-heavy approach could ever produce commercial products. The turning point came in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Regeneron developed a trap technology that fused receptor domains to antibody Fc regions, creating a novel class of biologics that would eventually yield EYLEA, a VEGF trap that blocks vascular endothelial growth factor with higher affinity than monoclonal antibodies. The EYLEA program, initially partnered with Bayer in 2003, progressed through clinical trials for wet age-related macular degeneration and received FDA approval in November 2011, transforming Regeneron from a perpetual development-stage company into a profitable commercial enterprise. The success of EYLEA validated the trap technology and provided the cash flow to fund the expansion of VelocImmune and the genetics center, while the 2007 Sanofi partnership, initially focused on cardiovascular disease, was restructured in 2015 to prioritize immunology, leading to the discovery and approval of Dupixent in 2017. Throughout this 35-year journey, the company has maintained its headquarters in Tarrytown, expanded to multiple global offices, and preserved the founding principle that physician-scientists should lead drug development, with Schleifer and Yancopoulos continuing to review experimental data and attend lab meetings decades after the company's founding.