Regeneron CEO Defends Pharma, Warns China Will ‘Pass Us Right By’ After Announcing Free Gene Therapy For Hearing Loss

• Schleifer also backed President Donald Trump’s calls for lower drug prices, echoing the president’s sentiment that other countries are ripping off the U.S. with regard to drugs.
• He added that American patients and taxpayers have borne an outsized share of biotechnology costs, effectively subsidizing lower drug prices in other high-income countries.
• Schleifer also touted Reneron’s database of gene sequencing, stating that it could change the practice of medicine.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) CEO Leonard Schleifer, on Friday, reportedly called for an end to the vilification of the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S.

During an interview with CNBC, Schleifer warned that if this vilification continues, China will overtake the U.S. in the pharma sector.

“We sell drugs like Dupixent, Eylea and Eylea HD that… we’ve given a 100 million injections in the eye, we treated a million and a half people with Dupixent, we have plenty of large markets, but our scientists said, let’s give this one away for free, because they’re helping us. That’s the kind of company I think Regeneron is,” Schleifer said during the interview.

Schleifer’s comments come a day after Regeneron announced that it is giving away its gene therapy for genetic hearing loss, Otarmeni, free of charge to eligible individuals. Regeneron stated that Otarmeni has received expedited approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Regeneron shares were up 0.5% in Friday’s pre-market trade.

Schleifer Backs Trump’s Call For Lower Drug Prices

Schleifer also backed President Donald Trump’s calls for lower drug prices, echoing the president’s sentiment that other countries are ripping off the U.S. with regard to drugs.

“I think the Trump administration is wielding a pretty heavy hand with the trade policy and I think we’re starting to see that other wealthy nations will have to come up,” he added.

This is after Regeneron signed an agreement with the U.S. government to help lower the cost of drugs for Americans. The company stated that it will lower Medicaid prices based on prices in other developed countries, and added that prices for future medicines in the U.S. will be aligned with prices set in that defined group of other countries.

The Regeneron chief stated that American patients and taxpayers have borne an outsized share of biotechnology costs, effectively subsidizing lower drug prices in other high-income countries that have not contributed proportionately.

Regeneron CEO Touts Company’s Database Of Gene Sequencing

Schleifer also touted Reneron’s database of gene sequencing, stating that it could change the practice of medicine.

“Frankly, everybody realizes that that database that has been created at Regeneron is probably one of the most important databases out there,” he said, while adding that a number of large AI companies want to train on it.

Schleifer added that Regeneron wants to expand this database, noting that there are a lot of single genes that the company can develop therapies for to make a difference in terms of the risk for patients.

REGN stock is down 1% year-to-date, but up 30% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is up 32% over the past 12 months, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is up 43%.

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