F or the past 35 years, George Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., has focused on one goal: advancing science to create new life-saving medicines.
As a teenager in New York City, Yancopoulos witnessed his grandmother develop Alzheimer’s disease. Dismayed that there was no cure, he began an ambitious high-school science project with the goal of regenerating neurons. Inspired by the healing powers of science, he eventually co-founded, along with Leonard Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D., Regeneron—a leading biotechnology and research company headquartered in Tarrytown, New York. Since its founding in 1988, the company has produced an impressive track record, developing a dozen FDA-approved or authorized medicines to treat serious diseases. For Yancopoulos, a son of Greek immigrants who grew up in the melting pot of Queens, the strength of Regeneron has always been its reliance on good science, and the key to doing the best science is simple: Bring as many different viewpoints together to challenge everything and come up with the best ideas. “At Regeneron, our most important belief is in diversity of opinion,” he says. “You need to offer different views and expertise to follow the science and arrive at the right conclusions.”
For decades, genetic research—a primary focus of Regeneron—has been largely homogenous, with studies centered on people of European descent. However, it has become clear that a patient’s response to treatment is dependent on a wide range of factors, including ancestry and ethnicity. To speed up the discovery of new medicines and more effectively treat an array of patients, Regeneron Genetics Center (RGC) has created one of the largest and most diverse genomic databases in the world (more than 2 million sequenced exomes and counting) to better understand the genetic drivers of disease. By studying the genetic diversity of humankind and targeting its research on underrepresented populations, Regeneron is gleaning new insights to develop medicines that are inclusive of all patients suffering from these diseases.
In fact, one of Regeneron’s medicines lowers bad cholesterol and other factors that contribute to heart disease. By following the science after the discovery of a unique genetic trait that protected Black populations from heart disease, Regeneron saw it could make a difference there: “If we didn’t look broadly enough, we would not have found that and would have never developed a drug that can now benefit a lot of people,” Yancopoulos says. “Anybody who follows genetics understands that diversity rules.”
For Yancopoulos, what began as a quest to help his grandmother is now a multinational biotechnology firm that helps millions of people around the globe—one that is redefining how good science is done and by whom. In this effort, diversity of talent and ideas is key. Indeed, Regeneron’s first head of culture and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Smita Pillai, collected inputs from thousands of colleagues and co-developed a framework, “Better Workplace, Better Science, Better World”, specifically to boost diversity within the company’s ranks and lift up diverse perspectives, an essential component of creating good science—codifying Yancopoulos’s original vision within the fabric of the company.
“Just like when I was 13, I’m still working on the cure for my grandmother,” he says. “Creating new treatments is incredibly challenging. But Regeneron really has changed the lives of many people, and it’s because we’re different. We’re the only large biotech and biopharma company founded and still run by physician scientists. Science is what drives us, and it’s our approach to solving problems with diversity that is helping us to meet the challenges today.”
True Innovation Depends on Genetic Diversity
Less than 2 percent of genetic information studied today originates from people of African ancestry. This lack of diversity in genetic research has had profound implications, causing new insights to be overlooked and medicines to be developed that aren’t effective for many populations.
To better understand the genetic drivers of disease and enable the discovery of new, effective medicines for more patients, scientists must have access to a diverse genomic database. At Regeneron, scientists are working to include more diverse populations in research to expand understanding of humanity and create effective treatments for everyone. “We are intentional about using the inherent diversity of humanity to inspire discovery,” says Lori Morton, Ph.D., senior vice president of research at Regeneron. “That which makes us individual humans unique informs our understanding of human health.”
This approach is at the heart of RGC, whose research has helped make a number of important discoveries possible, such as the identification of a gene that is shown to protect against obesity, one that protects against chronic liver disease, and another that helps certain people reduce the risk of diabetes. “When we look at the European population versus the African-ancestry population, there are about a million additional differences in the genome,” says Lyndon Mitnaul, Ph.D., an executive director at RGC. “This is why sequencing people with more variation gives you greater richness in your opportunity to find new discoveries.”
In addition to focusing on genetics, Regeneron is diversifying its approach to science across the board. Its Diversity in Science and Medicine Working Group, for example, leverages insights about diverse cell biologies and molecular pathways to develop new therapeutic approaches in more populations. “Our scientists are also using expertise in animal model development and human disease profiling to help more populations where minimal treatment options are available,” says David Glass, M.D., vice president of research at Regeneron.
Recently, Regeneron launched a coalition called Together for CHANGE, which aims to recruit 500,000 volunteer participants of African ancestry to contribute their DNA to help build the largest African-ancestry genomics research database. It is also partnering with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) like Meharry Medical College, in Nashville, Tennessee, to increase educational and mentorship opportunities for Black scientists and engineers. “We’re going to create a unique genetic resource, and then we’ll provide that dataset to scientists at HBCUs and to institutions in Africa to study,” says Mitnaul. “You’re creating scientists and you’re giving them a unique resource to study, and in the process creating an ecosystem of collaboration.”
Good Science Demands Diversity in Clinical Trials
The key to creating more effective medicines across populations is to have greater diversity in clinical trials. Historically, however, this has not been achieved.
For years, clinical trials consisted largely of participants who had greater access to care or happened to live near institutions where physicians conducted clinical trials. In addition, researchers have faced challenges in attracting minority populations for clinical trials due to those populations’ distrust and barriers to access, among other factors. These issues have created an imbalance. Just as humans are diverse, the diseases that affect humans are heterogeneous as well—and if clinical trials don’t reflect that truth, then the results of those trials can’t effectively treat everyone.
To gain the trust of populations worldwide, Regeneron is using innovative techniques and technologies to reduce the burden of participating in clinical trials and incorporate more patient-centric care. The goal is to increase engagement through apps and sensor technologies and to share information to enhance patients’ knowledge and understanding of their health, well-being, and health-care choices, leading to improved care. This also helps make the science better.
“Diversity drives better science, and we’re interested in discovering whether a medicine will have the same effect in one person versus another of a different race, gender, or ethnicity,” says Bari Kowal, senior vice president of development operations at Regeneron. “We are also keen to better understand the science behind the mechanism of action and the resulting clinical outcomes for diverse populations to better drive to more targeted drug development.”
To expand access to clinical trials among diverse communities, Regeneron is using technology to meet clinical trial participants where they live. When planning clinical trials, researchers use epidemiology and natural history studies to better understand specific populations affected by a disease. Regeneron’s Global Development organization uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to assess large volumes of data to explore the best ways to identify and connect with a population affected by the disease under study.
Regeneron also does creative outreach to foster greater trust between researchers and historically underrepresented communities. For example, Regeneron’s Asian and Pacific Islander employee resource group (ERG) helped review a global patient survey translated to various Asian languages for accuracy and cultural appropriateness, enabling the Regeneron team to collect meaningful insights. In another trial, the team wanted to reach a Hispanic population that was particularly affected by a disease and worked with a popular blogger and podcast to share information about the trial with their followers from trusted members of their community, following appropriate clinical trial recruitment procedures and protections.
“We try to go where the patients are,” Kowal says. “It’s about pushing out information, but also about pulling people in and giving them access to information about their disease and education on clinical trials to enable them to make an informed decision. That’s powerful.”
Good Science Is Built on a Strong STEM Pipeline
The bedrock of good science is a diversity of ideas, research, and talent—and yet, true diversity does not happen on its own. Even today, just 24 percent of all U.S. STEM workers are Black, Hispanic, American Indian, or Alaska Native.
Just as a robust study requires forethought and intention to root out possible bias, creating a diversity of opinions, backgrounds, and specialties within STEM fields requires deliberate considerations and actions. Developing strong pipelines that make it possible for more people from a range of populations and groups to enter the field is critical.
“Science is the pursuit of truth, and you cannot pursue truth if you’re not open to different ideas,” says Pillai. “You need to have an environment where people from different backgrounds can debate ideas to get to a better place, and that’s the culture Regeneron will continue to grow.”
This is a primary reason Regeneron employs the “Better Workplace, Better Science, Better World” DEI framework: It seeks to boost diversity within its ranks and encourage the sharing of ideas that is so critical to creating good science at Regeneron, which ultimately leads to a better world. This focus on action and results avoids “diversity tokenism” and facilitates real change. That’s because diversity at Regeneron is interwoven with and borne from the core understanding that the efficacy and strength of science is made possible through encouraging the sharing of all ideas.
“We focus on diversity in a way that is authentic to us: through the science,” Pillai says. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion for us are not just words but are truly ingrained into our culture and how we do science.”
To foster belonging and conversation among its scientists, and in turn attract even more diverse talent, Regeneron creates opportunities for colleagues to come together. For example, there are now 10 ERGs across a range of common identifiers: Black, women, mental health/neurodiversity, disabilities, LGBTQ+, and more. Each is led by a senior executive, and in total they now include 5,000 employees, about half of the entire company. Among other initiatives, ERGs now sponsor more than 115 annual events, ranging from Women’s History Month celebrations to health-equity seminars and webinars raising awareness of mental-health issues, all of which are designed to promote allyship as well as conversations about challenging topics—skills that can transfer to respectful debates about science in Regeneron’s labs.
“I still run a lot of the scientific meetings,” Yancopoulos says. “The thing that I love is when I make the mistake of assuming something might be true—and it might not be—and an entry-level researcher challenges me. But that’s the mentality that we have at Regeneron. An entry-level scientist can challenge me, and they’ll know I like it because I support challenging everything.”
Other initiatives are 90-minute virtual learning sessions with subject-matter experts on DEI issues, called Inclusion Cafes; the Mentoring+ program, in which younger employees are often matched with business leaders to discuss career goals; Culture Labs, a platform for leaders to learn how team members experience Regeneron’s culture; and Empathy Circles, a safe space for colleagues to share thoughts and concerns in response to external events. Over the years the company has hosted Empathy Circles in which thousands of colleagues across the company have gathered to listen to and share stories, which in turn has created lasting impact on the culture of the company. These circles cover a range of topics, helping to make every employee feel welcome and respected. “This strategy creates an ecosystem for channeling the energy of diverse perspectives into good medicine,” says Sally Paull, executive vice president of Human Resources at Regeneron.
Regeneron also understands that diversity within the STEM professions does not happen on its own. That’s why the company is working to bring more diverse students from diverse backgrounds into the field, sponsoring national and international programs to give all students a real opportunity to enter scientific fields and further the practice of good science—including a recent $34 million, five-year sponsorship renewal of the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, a program of Society for Science and the world’s largest high-school science and engineering competition.
“At a time when we are seeing companies promising resources and not necessarily being able to follow through, Regeneron is an authentic example of how we invest where we know we can make a difference—making science inclusive for the best and brightest,” says Pillai.
These STEM pipeline programs are personal to Yancopoulos, who credits his attendance at the Bronx High School of Science and placement as a top winner in what is now known as the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the United States’ oldest and most prestigious science and math competition, as the first step to launching Regeneron. “For me, helping the next generation is like coming full circle,” he says. “I don’t know where the next Albert Einstein is coming from, so we better do our best to help lift up everyone.”