Our team is leading the way in solving the human body’s most complex mysteries and working with the patient community to improve lives. We bring a passion for science and innovation and a commitment to help transform the lives of patients in need. We aim to support the communities we serve, embrace a culture and business model of patients over profits and hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards.
As part of our disease education program, Understand AD, we paired with the National Eczema Association (NEA) and Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues & You! to create Blue and Frida Felt Become Ecz-tra Special Friends, a story about Blue and her new friend, Frida Felt, who has eczema (also called atopic dermatitis, or AD).
The goal of the partnership is to help caregivers and children living with eczema embrace what makes them unique and shine a light on the everyday burdens that someone living with, or caring for someone living with, AD face. This partnership expands on the Understand AD program, which started in 2017 with NEA. It represents our commitment to growing public awareness, building support and giving a voice to the people and families living with this devastating disease.
“With this year’s program, we hope to help our youngest patients see themselves represented in the beloved characters of Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues & You!, while supporting their families in an effort to increase awareness and empathy around eczema.” - Brook Jennings, Vice President, Commercial Dermatology, Regeneron
Regeneron launched a Spanish-language website, Diabetes y tus ojos, to help educate the Latino/a community about the impact of diabetes on eyesight and the importance of regular eye exams.
Diabetes disproportionately affects the Latino/a community, with women and men being 2.5 times more likely to be living with diabetes than non-Latino/a or non-Hispanic white women and men. To help reach and educate this audience about the impact of diabetes on eyesight and the importance of regular eye exams, the Spanish-language website features educational information about diabetic eye diseases including diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema, an explanation of symptoms and resources for how to prepare for an eye exam.
“Our goal for developing this resource was to leverage cultural motivators to raise awareness among the Latino/a community on the value of protecting eyesight through regular eyecare visits, earlier diagnosis and proactive management.” - Mary Heather, Director, Product & Pipeline Communications, Regeneron
In 2022, Regeneron and Sanofi set out to reach at-risk groups, particularly men aged 65 and older, through Let’s Get Real About Skin Cancer, an educational campaign for non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). Let’s Get Real About Skin Cancer was created to establish a frank, straightforward dialogue about advanced NMSC targeted to those at highest risk. We partnered with Johnny Bench, former Cincinnati Reds catcher and Baseball Hall of Famer, who was diagnosed with BCC in 2012.
The Let’s Get Real About Skin Cancer program included the Giant National Capital BBQ Battle in Washington, D.C., attended by more than 100,000 people, to drive meaningful engagements and educate men aged 65 and older about the importance of getting regular skin checks.
“Most people are familiar with skin cancer, but few know about non-melanoma skin cancers, which are far more prevalent. Regeneron’s Let’s Get Real About Skin Cancer highlights important topics around NSMCs that are often overlooked.” - Dr. Ariel Ostad, Dermatologic Surgery & Dermatology, NYU Langone Health
Powerful and encouraging messages – from patients who have received our medicines, and from their families and friends – keep us motivated every day.
At Regeneron, we keep patients at the forefront as we discover, develop and bring medicines to the market. We are committed to understanding patients’ unmet needs and challenges.
Patient advocacy and professional medical societies play a critical role in the global healthcare landscape by supporting patients through disease education and by advocating on behalf of their respective patient communities.
Starting early in the drug discovery process, our Patient Advocacy team forges long-standing, trusted relationships with these organizations. Through our shared, patient-centric approach, we elevate patient voices, improve disease awareness and support equitable access to evidence-based care. In 2022, we engaged with 184 global and U.S. patient advocacy and professional societies across 38 diseases.
We recognize the importance of early detection and are committed to empowering patients with information, navigation tools and access to experimental therapies, especially for diseases where no approved treatments exist.
Last year, we welcomed NASH kNOWledge to meet with our Regeneron colleagues, including those in our Regeneron Genetics Center®, who are responsible for efforts in understanding diseases at the most fundamental level: the genome. NASH kNOWledge is a patient organization devoted to preventing or reducing cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with a focus on those at higher risk, including children and Hispanics.
We heard directly from NASH kNOWledge about the long and challenging patient experience. We were particularly inspired by the group’s focus on members of the Hispanic and Latino/a communities, who are at higher risk of developing NAFLD and NASH due to the presence of specific genetic markers. It’s why we focus our efforts on this at-risk population. It’s also why NASH kNOWledge developed a Spanish-language website customized for the needs of the Hispanic and Latino/a populations to ultimately serve as a go-to community resource that did not previously exist.
We also shared our work and commitment to discovering new genetic targets that may potentially lead to NASH treatments. Through our efforts with organizations such as NASH kNOWledge, we are determined to increase disease awareness and education on potential treatments at an early stage to mitigate the risks early and ultimately prevent the need for liver transplants resulting from damage due to NAFLD or NASH.
Tony Villiotti, founder and board chair of NASH kNOWledge, shares the personal journey of his NASH diagnosis.
