Regeneron Working On Coronavirus Vaccine In Hudson Valley

TARRYTOWN, NY — With the news Friday from Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordering all the state's non-essential workers to stay home beginning Monday, one company in the Hudson Valley will be toiling away to help fight the new coronavirus outbreak increasing around the United States and the rest of the world.

Employees of Regeneron, both in the labs and manufacturing facilities where medicines are made, are considered essential workers and are exempt from the governor's order. Technically they are covered because research and laboratory services and manufacturing, including pharmaceuticals, are considered essential services.

The company, which is headquartered in Tarrytown, recently announced advances in its COVID-19 antibody program.

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Regeneron is utilizing its trademarked VelociSuite technology that allows the company to rapidly, and at high-scale, manipulate the DNA of mice to create antibodies to help fight diseases. In August, Regeneron was at the forefront of finding a therapy for Ebola virus infection.

Alexandra Bowie, the company's spokesperson, said researchers use mice that have been genetically modified to mimic the human immune system.

The researchers in essence give the mice the COVID-19 virus and see what antibodies they produce.

With the new coronavirus research, Bowie said the company is hoping to develop an antibody to the virus that can then be given to someone to prevent infection — like a vaccine — or as a treatment for those already infected.

"We can see this being used in a high-risk population, maybe health-care workers," she said.

"It could be something that could hold us over until (a vaccine) is developed," Bowie said.

What the company is targeting is the virus' "spike protein," the rod-like structures seen in images of the new coronavirus. The spike protein is what binds the virus to a host cell and is required to infect it.

The goal is to block the spike protein and then neutralize the virus, preventing it from interacting with a healthy cell.

As antibodies are created, Regeneron will select the most promising and create a cocktail, at which point clinical-scale production can begin.

The company said it is working toward the goal of producing hundreds of thousands of doses per month by the end of the summer and hopes to have smaller quantities available for initial clinical testing at the beginning of the summer.

George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., co-founder, president and chief scientific officer of Regeneron, said, "Given the tremendous interest and concern around the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be providing regular and transparent updates on our discovery and development programs."

He added that the team is working around the clock to develop needed solutions to what he said is a global health crisis.

The company also has an approved anti-inflammatory medication called Kevzara, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Bowie said Kevzara inhibits a protein called interleukin-6 that is found at the site of inflammation, and data out of China showed that a similar drug showed some ability to reduce inflammation of the lungs caused by the new coronavirus.

She said a clinical trial with 400 people was initiated Monday at Mount Sinai, some Northwell Health sites and others in the U.S.

Bowie said research and develop personnel at Regeneron understand the new coronavirus outbreak is a high pressure situation, "but everyone is highly motivated to make something happen."

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