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Regeneron Pharmaceuticals – Its history, science and technology

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Presentation on theme: "Regeneron Pharmaceuticals – Its history, science and technology"— Presentation transcript:

1 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals – Its history, science and technology
BIOMAN Conference July 30, 2009

2 Regeneron at the start Founded in by Len Schelifer, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurology, Cornell Medical School Four original employees Expertise in neuroscience Cutting edge research in neurotropins (CNTF, BDNF, NGF, NT-3) Commited to the discovery, development and commercialization of drug products for the treatment on unmet medical conditions Initial therapeutic target was treatment of neurodegenerative disease (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease)

3 Regeneron Historical Ups and Downs 1989 - 1999
Rens Mfg site acquired for CNTF Merck toll mfg agree ment Axokine collab. w/ P&G BOD formed REGN goes public BDNF collab. w/ Sumitomo New HQ in Tarrytown 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 CNTF fails in PIII

4 Regeneron Historical Milestones 2000 - present
IL-1 Trap collab. w/ Novartis begins VEGF Trap collab. w/ Aventis begins VEGF Trap –Eye collab w/ Bayer IL-1 Trap appoved in US for CAPS Sanofi collab. expanded to mAbs Trap molecules begin to emerge First 2 x 10 kL mfg suite on line Second 2x10 kL mfg suite on line 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 BDNF dropped Axokine poor PIII outcome IL-1 Trap RA PII released Novartis withdraws Merck contract ends

5 Regeneron Evolution and Growth
Historical Current Therapeutic Areas Neurogenerative disease VelocImmune turn-key approach: CAPS Cancer Gout Eye disease Arthritis Pain Drug Candidates Neurotrophic factors Cytokine traps Monoclonal Antibodies & Fusion Proteins Production Systems Bacterial fermentation misfolded proteins inclusion bodies Mammalian cell culture (CHO) fully folded, functional proteins post-translational modifications secreted into cell culture fluid Production Scale 300 L bioreactor 0.3 m diameter columns 10,000 L bioreactor 1.4 m diameter column IND filings 3 in 10 years 2 – 3 per year

6 Therapeutic Proteins Today
Arcalyst, Rilonacept (IL-1 Trap) Approved Aflibercept (VEGF Trap) Phase III REGN88 (IL-6R antibody) Phase II REGN421 (DLL4 antibody) Phase I REGN475 (NGF antibody) Phase I REGN668 (IL-4R antibody) IND Sept REGN727/728 (PCSK9 antibody) IND Oct

7 Regeneron Today Broad clinical development portfolio across all development stages provides multiple “shots on goal” Three Phase 3 programs to yield initial data in 2010 Potential multiple product launches in next few years Nearly 1,000 employees working in a science-driven, entrepreneurial culture Rensselaer facility among the leaders in antibody production capacity

8 Regeneron Keys to Success
Commitment to cutting edge science and enabling technologies Neurotrophins, cytokines, angiogenesis, receptor chemistry and signaling Cytokine and growth factor Traps VelociSuite technologies Fully integrated biopharmaceutical enterprise World reknown Board of Directors members - 3 nobel laureates as well as seasoned pharmaceutical professionals Attract and secure investment and favorable corporate collaborations

9 Collaboration Agreements
Oncology Eye Disease Antibodies Inflammation sanofi-aventis Bayer HealthCare Upfront/milestone payments $130MM $95MM $85MM Development costs paid by partner * 100% ~50% ~100%** Profit split — Regeneron share US 50% Japan ~35% royalty 35-45% ROW Milestones remaining Regulatory $400MM $90MM Sales $135MM $250MM * 50% repayment from profits ** plus $475MM of research funding over 5 years 9 9 9 9 9

10 Trap Technology 10 10 10 10 10 10

11 First Generation Heterodimeric TRAP (subpicomolar affinity)
Traps: Based on Discovery that Some Receptors Must “Heterodimerize” for High-affinity Ectodomain Cytodomain Factor Conventional Receptor: Receptors “Homo-Dimerize” + Many Receptors: Require “Heterodimerization” Kd = 5 nM Kd ~ pM R1 R2 Conventional “Homodimeric” Soluble Decoy Receptor (e.g. Enbrel for TNF) Receptor Ectodomains Fc Constant (Dimerization & Half-life) First Generation Heterodimeric TRAP (subpicomolar affinity) 11

12 Antibody Structure Conventional “Homodimeric” Soluble Decoy Receptor (e.g. Enbrel for TNF) Cytokine/Interleukin Cytokine/Interleukin Heavy Chain Fc Constant (Dimerization & Half-life) Light Chain Variable Regions (Binding) Receptor Ectodomains Fc Constant (Dimerization & Half-life) First Generation Heterodimeric Interleukin-1 Trap (subpicomolar affinity) “Single-Chain” Interleukin-1 Trap (sub-picomolar affinity) Receptor 1 (IL1 AcP) Ectodomain Last December an article published in Nature Medicine described the development of the Cytokine Trap technology and the general approach for incorporating the 2 necessary receptor components into a single Trap that binds a cytokine or growth factor very tightly. Receptor 1 (IL1 AcP) Ectodomain Receptor 2 (IL1 R1) Ectodomain Receptor 2 (IL1 R1) Ectodomain Fc Constant (Dimerization & Half-life) Fc Constant (Dimerization & Half-life) 12

13 Regeneron’s Traps: Proprietary & Turnkey Solutions for Blocking Well-Validated Cytokine & Growth Factor Targets Advantages Allow targeting of extremely well-validated cytokines & growth factors Can target multiple ligands for same receptor (e.g., IL1a & b, VEGF & PLGF) All human components Long circulating half-life in humans In each case, Traps are most potent blockers described for their targets (often by fold) Prior to development of VelocImmune technology, much more efficient and higher affinity than conventional human antibody approaches 2 Receptor’s Binding Regions … fused to… IgG Fc region Regeneron Traps 13

14 ARCALYST® (rilonacept) Approved and Launched in 2008
ARCALYST® (rilonacept) is approved for treatment of Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes (CAPS)* Rare, inherited, auto-inflammatory diseases Approved for adults and children age 12 and older Patients with CAPS experience ongoing lifelong symptoms Intermittent, debilitating exacerbations or flares can be triggered at any time by exposure to cooling temperatures Symptoms include rash, fever/chills, joint pain, eye redness/pain and fatigue Patients often adopt a compromised lifestyle *

15 Aflibercept (VEGF Trap)
15 15 15 15 15 15

16 Aflibercept Differentiation
Figure 1. Structure of VEGF Trap Bevacizumab Humanized MAb ~160,000 MW Kd = pM Only blocks primate VEGF-A Forms Immune Complex with VEGF-A Aflibercept All human amino acid sequences ~110,000 MW Kd = 0.5 pM (tighter than natural receptors) Blocks all mammalian VEGF-A, as well as PlGF and VEGF-B Binds VEGF isoforms as monomer without Immune Complex formation Check on our current t1/2 Change color of box 16 16

17 VEGF Trap-Eye 17 17 17 17 17 17

18 Change in Visual Acuity (letters)
VEGF Trap – Eye Extension Study: Durable Responses in Visual Acuity to 18 Months (all 5 dose groups combined, n=117) Results Announced May 2009 PRN dosing 2mg Fixed-dosing PRN-dosing phase +8.4 letters* Change in Visual Acuity (letters) +7.3 letters* +7.1 letters* *P < vs. baseline 3 Month 12 18 18 18

19 Nine Phase 3 Trials Currently Underway
Initial Phase 3 data coming in 2010

20 VelociSuite of Technologies

21 VelociSuite of Technologies: Target Identification and Validation
VelociGene® VelociMouse™ High-throughput generation of almost any desired genetic alteration in mouse embryonic stem cells High-throughput generation of mouse models directly from embryonic stem cells containing genetically altered target genes Together, used to identify and validate drug targets: Rapidly replaces gene with reporter to see where gene is active Shows the result of deleting or adding extra copies of genes Allows direct testing in mammalian models of whether the gene product is an important target in a disease setting and for therapeutic intervention Selected to play major role in NIH Knockout Mouse Project 21 21

22 Rapid generation of high-quality, fully human antibodies
VelociSuite of Technologies: Human Antibody Generation and Manufacturing VelociMab™ High-throughput antibody screening and selection and high-expression, manufacturing cell line development VelocImmune® Rapid generation of high-quality, fully human antibodies Genetically humanized over 6 megabases of mouse immune genome VelocImmune mice mount a robust immune response and generate antibodies as efficiently as normal mice Antibodies with most desirable characteristics selected and extracted from B cells Antibodies cloned into high-expression manufacturing cell lines, suitable for clinical and commercial use human heavy chain Vs Ds Js mouse constants and controlling regions human kappa chain Vs Js mouse constant and controlling regions 22 22

23 Why Fully Human Antibodies? Evolution of Technologies
Murine (0% Human) Chimeric (66% Human) Humanized ( % Human) Fully Human (100% Human) Immunogenicity Human Antibody Platforms Phage-Display AstraZeneca (Cambridge Antibody Technology) Several companies using technology Transgenic Mouse Amgen Inc. (Abgenics, Inc.) Medarex Inc. / Kirin Pharma, Ltd. Regeneron VelocImmune Mouse Broad-based collaboration with Sanofi-aventis Licensed to AstraZeneca and Astellas Pharma 23

24 Selection of Antibody Candidates
Early screening steps focus on: binding affinity blocking diversity Final screening steps focus on: protein expression/purification protein characterization/quality in vivo properties 24

25 Regeneron Cell Line Technologies
FASTR System (Flow cytometry based Autologous Secretion Trap) High-copy system for high-level expression Inducible Fc capture protein on cell surface to utilize FACS-based sorting (96-well format) Perfect for commercial cell lines EESYR System (Enhanced Expression and StabilitY Region) Provides a common site of integration High efficiency integration of single copy heavy & light chain Perfect for head-to-head comparisons Perfect for providing a speed-to-clinic cell line 25

26 Selecting High Producing Cells Using Fluorescence Associated Cell Sorting (FACS)
Droplet Generator Detector  Electrical Wire Computer + - Laser Empty Droplet Cells In Key Advantages - Speed and Throughput Individually examines 20,000 cells per second Up to 100 million transfected cells examined Can directly single-cell sort - eliminates subcloning step 26

27 Value of VelocImmune™ Mouse Validated By Multiple Relationships
Corporate Licenses Academic Licenses sanofi-aventis Collaboration AstraZeneca/Cambridge Antibody Technology (February 2007) Astellas Pharma (March 2007) Columbia University (September 2008) The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (March 2009) Broad profit-sharing program to discover, develop and commercialize human antibodies (November 2007) 3 antibodies now in clinical trials Terms of corporate licenses: $20mm/year for up to 6 years (minimum 4 years). Mid-single-digit royalty on antibody sales. Terms of academic licenses: Regeneron has exclusive option to license antibodies for development and commercialization 27 27 27 27

28 Regeneron is a Fully-integrated Biopharmaceutical Company

29 Regeneron Manufacturing

30 State-of-the-Art Manufacturing Facility

31 Process Area 3 – 1 x 1600 L Bioreactor
CONFIDENTIAL Process Area 3 – 1 x 1600 L Bioreactor Primarily for PI/II Supply Ten years of operating experience 3 Traps 7 mAbs Flexible Process Design 31 31

32 Process Area 1 – 2 x 3000 L Bioreactor
CONFIDENTIAL Process Area 1 – 2 x 3000 L Bioreactor Primarily for PII/III Supply New facility realized in 14 months (!) Focus on characterizing and understanding the process 32 32

33 Red Mill Process Area CONFIDENTIAL
Our final scale in our Red Mill facility is our L Bioreactor Production Suite. In this suite we have two L production bioreactors, which are primarily intended for Phase III and commercial production, but can also be used to support large Phase II needs. This suite has undergone a PAI from the FDA in 2007 and MHRA as recently as last month for rilonacept and is also used to produce aflibercept. Currently we are in the midst of a rilonacept campaign. Purification of batch #1 was performed last week, we are in the production bioreactor for our second batch and seed train expansion for our third batch. Seven batches are scheduled for this campaign which should take us through late may, when we will perform a “rolling changeover” and start a 6 batch aflibercept campaign immediately thereafter. Engineering and Procurement activities for RM2 in-progress?? Pics To operate each of these suites, we have a manufacturing department with approximately 55 FTEs. The staffing for each area is very dynamic and responsive to manufacturing needs. We have a strong emphasis on cross training for each unit operation. On a given day an operator may be expanding a seed train in Red Mill, the next day they may be formulating drug substance in PA1. This approach gives us maximum flexibility. The manufacturing group works very closely with PAS for “on the floor” technical support. PAS is also responsible for the transfer of processes from PD group in TT. We also work closely with QA for the generation of manufacturing documents and compliance with procedures, as well as QC for our analytical needs. Questions? 33 33

34 Currently Doubling Manufacturing Capacity

35 IL-6R Antibody Formulated Drug Substance Manufacturing Upstream Operations, 3,000L Production Scale
Thaw of the MCB 500ml Flask 2L Wavebag 20L Wavebag 200L Wavebag 1,000L Bioreactor 3,000L Bioreactor Low pH Hold Protein A Harvest Pool Depth and Polish Filtration Centrifugation

36 Hydrophobic Interaction Transfer to Formulation Tank
IL-6R Antibody Formulated Drug Substance Manufacturing Downstream Operations, 3,000L Production Scale Anion Exchange Chromatography Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography Viral Clearance Filtration Addition of concentrated excipient buffer < -20C Freezing of Formulated Drug Substance Filling of 1 L bottles Transfer to Formulation Tank Concentration and Diafiltration

37 Regeneron Human Resources

38 IOPS Personnel Headcount Totals Group Personnel Total 271
CONFIDENTIAL IOPS Personnel Headcount Totals 8% 4% Group Personnel Quality (QA, QC, Audit) 88 Facilities Operations (Maintenance, EH&S, Engineering) 44 Manufacturing (Internal and External) 70 Business Operations (Finance, Supply Chain, Warehouse) 35 Process & Analytical Sciences 21 Human Resources and Training 10 Administrative 3 Total 271 61% 25% 43% 18% 39% 38

39 Employee Profile Title Degree Major Yrs of Service Biotech Prod
Associate AAS/BA/BS Biology 4 Process Specialist BA/BS Chemical Engineering 2.3 QA 4.6 QC Analyst Chemistry; 5.8 Scientist Biology; Chemical Eng 3.6 Analytical MA/PhD Chemistry 6.9

40 BACK-UP SLIDES BIOMAN 2009

41 A Look at the U.S. Biotech Industry
The biotech industry is a major growth area in the global healthcare market and due to developments in monoclonal antibodies, genomics and proteomics the biotech market has experienced great expansion since its emergence in the 1970s To date, biotechnology has created more than 200 new therapies and vaccines, including products to treat cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and autoimmune disorders There are more than 400 biotech drug products and vaccines currently in clinical trials targeting more than 200 diseases As of Dec. 31, 2006, there were 1,452 biotechnology companies in the United States, of which 336 were publicly held Source: Biotechnology Industry Organization Guide, “Beyond Borders,“ Ernst & Young Biotechnology Report 2008

42 U.S. Biotech Industry Statistics
According to BioWorld, biotechnology attracted more than $24.8 billion in financing in 2007 and raised more than $100 billion in the five-year span of 2003–2007 The biosciences employed 1.2 million people in the U.S. in 2004 and generated an additional 5.8 million related jobs Revenues of publicly traded biotechs grew 12% to $89.7 billion in The global industry’s net loss improved 53%, from US$3 billion in 2007 to US$1.4 billion in 2008 In 2008, the US publicly traded industry posted an aggregate net profit for the first time - US$0.4B Source: Biotechnology Industry Organization Guide, “Beyond Borders,“ Ernst & Young Biotechnology Report 2008

43 U.S. Biotechnology Regions
There are 10 thriving clusters of life science industry in the U.S., helping to attract investment, talent and additional resources to specific geographic areas Ranking of Clusters by total number of companies Biotech Bay Genetown Biotech Beach Pharm Country BIO NC BIOMidwest BIOCapital BIO Forest BIOCanada SouthernPharm US Device The U.S. Biotechnology Regions map can be found on Biospace.com (

44 A Look at the Pharm Country Cluster
Regeneron belongs to “Pharm Country” The U.S. Biotechnology Regions map can be found on Biospace.com (

45 New York State Biotechnology
In its 2009 annual report, the New York Biotechnology Association (NYBA) reported that: In New York State, biopharmaceutical companies directly employed 55,446 workers and were responsible for a total of 130,464 jobs. The industry generated $29.1 billion in total economic output in 2006 and New York State is responsible for nearly seven percent of all direct biopharmaceutical output nationally New York last year was second in the nation with 5,053 clinical testing sites for potential new medicines 45

46 Growth of New York Biotechs Continues

47 Opt-in Rights to Novartis IL-1 Antibody Converted to Royalty
Regeneron had opt-in rights to canakinumab (Ilaris®, ACZ885) since 2003 Option to share in development, commercialization, and profits Regeneron would pay upfront, milestones, and 45% of N. American development costs Royalty agreement (June 2009) Opt-in rights cancelled Stepped royalty on worldwide sales in all indications Initial 4% royalty, reaches 15% of total sales if sales >$1.5B No Regeneron financial obligation Canakinumab status Approved in U.S. for CAPS treatment In clinical trials for gout, COPD, type 2 diabetes, SJIA


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