Regeneron Launches New Human Genetics Initiative

TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) today announced that it has launched a new human genetics initiative via a new wholly owned subsidiary, the Regeneron Genetics Center LLC (RGC).  The objective of the RGC is to expand the use of human genetics for defining disease targets and improving the drug development process.  The RGC will pursue both large population-based efforts as well as family-based approaches.

Central to the work of the RGC will be a collaboration with the Geisinger Health System of Pennsylvania, announced in a separate press release today.  A collaboration is also in place with the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health, and the Center intends to develop relationships with other academic, government, and integrated medical systems. 

"Regeneron has always believed in the power of genetics to help shape our understanding of disease and to guide development of novel therapeutics.  However, there have been major limitations that have prevented optimal utilization of human genetics at a large-scale," said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and President, Regeneron Laboratories.  "We believe that we can now address these limitations, and that now is the time to increase our investment in human genetics.  Over the last year we have been building a world-class facility and top-notch team to carry out large-scale sequencing, and today we are announcing that our Regeneron Genetics Center is operational.  We have also started to engage in collaborations that we believe will enable the kinds of genetics discoveries that will lead to better patient care, insights into which patients might best respond to investigational treatments, and leads for new disease targets to develop novel therapeutics.  The relationship with Geisinger is a cornerstone of the effort we are building, which we believe can advance the goals of human genetics research and personalized medicine."

Andrew J. Murphy, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Research, Regeneron Laboratories, added, "One of the unique aspects of the Regeneron human genetics research effort is our ability to validate putative disease-gene associations using our proprietary VelociGene^® technology.  Moreover, our VelocImmune^® technology has already proven itself ideal for developing novel therapeutics to disease targets defined using human genetics.  The RGC is an important investment in large-scale genetic research that we believe represents a powerful integrated approach that we hope will go all the way from gene discoveries to novel therapeutics."

Over the last year, Regeneron has built a new facility and recruited key members of the RGC team, including John Overton, Ph.D., former Associate Director of the Yale Center for Genome Analysis, who will be leading the center's sequencing effort, and Jeffrey Reid, Ph.D., formerly Assistant Professor at the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine, who will lead the informatics group.  Aris Baras, M.D., Director, R&D Initiatives, who with other internal leaders helped launch the program, will serve as Deputy Head of the RGC.  Recruiting continues for a variety of specialized positions, including heads of our analytical and translational genetics efforts.

"I am thrilled to be joining Regeneron as we initiate this new scientific research effort," said Dr. Overton.  "Regeneron's strong commitment to the success of this project, combined with its entrepreneurial spirit and well-established expertise in basic research and mouse genetics, form a foundation we feel will lead to significant advances in our understanding of the fundamental etiology of diseases, drug development, and, ultimately, in patient care."

"Bringing large-scale human genome sequencing together with Regeneron's world-class mouse genetics program has potential to identify validated targets for drug discovery and make clinically-relevant genetic discoveries that, through our collaborations, can speed up the translation from science to medicine and accelerate the pace of the genomic medicine revolution," said Dr. Reid. 

About Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Regeneron is a leading science-based biopharmaceutical company based in Tarrytown, New York that discovers, invents, develops, manufactures, and commercializes medicines for the treatment of serious medical conditions.  Regeneron markets medicines for eye diseases, colorectal cancer, and a rare inflammatory condition, and has product candidates in development in other areas of high unmet medical need, including

hypercholesterolemia, oncology, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis.  For additional information about the company, please visit www.regeneron.com.

Regeneron Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties relating to future events and the future performance of Regeneron, and actual events or results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements.  Words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.  These statements concern, and these risks and uncertainties include, among others, the nature, timing, and possible success and therapeutic applications of Regeneron's products, product candidates, and research and clinical programs now underway or planned including without limitation the planned genetic research collaboration with Geisinger Health System, Regeneron's translational research and functional biology capabilities, and the planned expansion in the use of human genetics in Regeneron's research process; unforeseen safety issues resulting from the administration of products and product candidates in patients; the likelihood and timing of possible regulatory approval and commercial launch of Regeneron's late-stage product candidates;  ongoing regulatory obligations and oversight impacting Regeneron's research and clinical programs and business, including those relating to patient privacy; determinations by regulatory and administrative governmental authorities which may delay or restrict Regeneron's ability to continue to develop or commercialize Regeneron's products and product candidates; competing drugs and product candidates that may be superior to Regeneron's products and product candidates; uncertainty of market acceptance and commercial success of Regeneron's products and product candidates; the ability of Regeneron to manufacture and manage supply chains for multiple products and product candidates; coverage and reimbursement determinations by third-party payers, including

Medicare and Medicaid; unanticipated expenses; the costs of developing, producing, and selling products; the ability of Regeneron to meet any of its sales or other financial projections or guidance and changes to the assumptions underlying those projections or guidance; the potential for any license or collaboration agreement, including Regeneron's agreements with Sanofi and Bayer HealthCare, to be cancelled or terminated without any further product success; and risks associated with third party intellectual property and pending or future litigation relating thereto.  A more complete description of these and other material risks can be found in Regeneron's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013. The reader is cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements made by Regeneron.  Regeneron does not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, including without limitation any financial projection or guidance, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Your Investor Relations Contact at Regeneron:
Manisha Narasimhan, Ph.D. Tel. 914.847.5126
E-Mail: [email protected]

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SOURCE Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.