Leonard Schleifer

Leonard S. Schleifer (born 1953) is the co-founder and chief executive of the biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

Leonard S. Schleifer
Born1953 (age 67–68)
NationalityUnited States
EducationCornell University (BS)
University of Virginia (MD, PhD)
OccupationDoctor
Businessman
Known forFounder and CEO of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Net worth US$ 2.2 billion (September 2020)[1]
Spouse(s)Harriet Partel Schleifer
ChildrenAdam Schleifer
David Schleifer
Parent(s)Florence Schacht Schleifer
Charles Baker Schleifer

Early life and education

He was born and raised in a Jewish family, the son of Florence and Charles Baker Schleifer,[2] in Queens, New York.[3] His father was a sweater manufacturer and World War II codebreaker.[2] He graduated with a B.S. from Cornell University and a MD-PhD from the University of Virginia where he studied under future Nobel Laureate, Alfred G. Gilman.[3] He then worked at New York Hospital where he trained to become a neurologist and also served as a junior faculty member.[3]

Career

Noticing that the biotechnology company Genentech was conducting state-of-the-art research but not on diseases of the nervous system, he determined to get into the biotechnology business.[3] After rebuking Gilman's efforts to recruit him as an academic, he found a sponsor in George Sing, a venture capitalist at Merrill Lynch, and obtained $1 million in seed capital. He also recruited George Yancopoulos, a 28-year-old scientist, to be his partner, and in 1988 they founded Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.[3] After several years of trying to recruit research doctors many of whom preferred to work in academia or for large corporations, they developed their first drug to treat Lou Gehrig’s disease. It was a failure as was their second drug to treat obesity.[3] Thereafter, they invited the former Merck & Co. CEO Roy Vagelos to be the chairman of their company and to help to turn the company around. He implemented two strategic changes; only invest in drugs in which the biology of the disorder is fully understood; and do not underestimate the importance of human testing to ensure that what works in the laboratory will also work in the real world.[4]

Eylea

As CEO of Regeneron, Schleifer oversaw the "approval and growth of high-priced drugs."[5] In 2011, Regeneron's first successful drug was Eylea for age-related macular degeneration.[5] Eylea prevented leaky blood vessels in the eye from causing blindness.[3][4] He licensed the drug to Aventis which was then bought by Sanofi which had no interest in the eye drug. Sanofi, in order to get out of its commitment, paid Regeneron $50 million and ceded the rights back to Regeneron.[3] The drug was a blockbuster generating $838 million in its first full year and sales increased 55% to $1.3 billion in 2013[4] making Schleifer a billionaire.[3] In 2014 Eylea grossed $1.735 billion.[5]

As CEO Schleifer received a total compensation of $41,965,424 in 2014. According to the "annual collaborative report" from Equilar and The New York Times, Schleifer ranked 15th in the May 2015 list of "200 highest-paid CEOs of large publicly traded companies." He ranked first in the list of biopharmaceutical executives with the highest total compensation.[5]

COVID-19 drugs

The subject is currently working on a multi-center, double-blind, Phase 2/3 trial with the partnership Sanofi, to evaluate the antibody agent, Kevzara(TM) for hospitalized patients starting in March 2020, as well as, working on the development of a novel, multi-antibody cocktail to be used as both a prevention of SARS-CoV-2 and treatment for infected patients.[6][7] Regeneron's apparent privileged access of its experimental Covid-19 therapeutic to Donald Trump and members of the Trump administration drew criticism over ethical concerns.[8][9]

Personal life

He is married to Harriet (née Partel) Schleifer; they have two children, Adam and David.[10][11] Harriet has an undergraduate degree from Cornell University, two graduate degrees in education from the University of Virginia and a J.D. degree from St. John's University School of Law.[10] She also serves as a member of the Board of Governors of American Jewish Committee[10] and as president of her synagogue.[12]

Schleifer has known U.S. President Donald Trump for some years, as he is a member of Trump’s golf club in Westchester County, New York.[13]

His son Adam was one of many candidates for the nomination in the 2020 Democratic Primary for New York's 17th congressional district.[14]

References
  1. Forbes Billionaires: Leonard Schleifer September 2017
  2. New York Times: "Paid Notice: Deaths SCHLEIFER, CHARLES BAKER December 4, 2011
  3. Forbes: "Regeneron Chief Leonard Schleifer Becomes A Billionaire After 25 Year Search For New Drugs" by Matthew Herper February 25, 2014
  4. Matthew Herper (September 2, 2013), "How Two Guys From Queens Are Changing Drug Discovery", Forbes, retrieved November 19, 2015
  5. Nicole Gray (May 29, 2015), "Biopharma execs have big presence among top-paid CEOs", BioPharma Dive, retrieved November 19, 2015
  6. Regeneron Pharmaceudicals, (March 17, 2020). "Investor Relations and Media: REGENERON Announces Important Advances in novel COVID-19 Antibody Program". Press Release. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  7. Washington Journal. Steve Scully, host. (March 29, 2020). "Dr. Leonard Schleifer Discusses Developing COVID-19 Drug Therapies." C-Span website Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  8. "Sheryl Gay Stolberg (December 9, 2020) "Trump and Friends Got Coronavirus Care Many Others Couldn't" The New York Times".
  9. "Alison Bateman-House, et al. (October 8, 2020) "Trump's Regeneron Treatment Is a Tangled Ethical Mess" Barron's".
  10. American Jewish Committee: "Harriet Schleifer" Archived March 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine retrieved March 29, 2014
  11. New York Times: "Paid Notice: Deaths PARTEL, RUBIN" February 4, 2008
  12. Mount Vernon Inquirer: "Westchester Jewish Council 40th Anniversary Gala to Honor Harriet P. Schleifer and William H. Schrag" retrieved May 5, 2017
  13. Tomazin, Farrah (October 3, 2020). "Trump, 'racing against the virus', receives experimental antibodies". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  14. Lungariello, Mark (November 25, 2019). "Adam Schleifer, 'Operation Varsity Blues' prosecutor, joins field for Nita Lowey's seat". Lohud. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
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