George Yancopoulos is in touch with his teenage self.
After 35 years as head scientist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Yancopoulos has led the development of 12 approved medicines, turning a once-fledgling company into the $100 billion global drugmaker it is today. And you can trace a straight line back to the childhood fascination with science he fostered growing up in Woodside, Queens.
“My high school science project was about regenerating neurons, and ‘Regeneron’ is a contraction of ‘regenerating neurons,’” Yancopoulos said at the STAT Summit East on Thursday. “In some ways I’m still working on my high school science project.”