Regeneron target of bomb scare

Town police, FBI head to site, but threat turns “out to be nothing”

East Greenbush police and the FBI responded to a potential bomb threat at Regeneron’s Tempel Lane campus on the same day that the company announced a blockbuster $2.6 billion deal with the federal government for the company’s coronavirus antibody treatment.

“It turned out to be nothing,” East Greenbush Supervisor Jack Conway said on Wednesday, the day after the scare.

Police were notified that the threat had been made with a note in a port-a-potty, although neither Conway nor Regeneron would confirm that account.

Regeneron has its main drug manufacturing location next to the University at Albany Health Sciences Campus on Columbia Turnpike but has been building a massive new campus on Tempel Lane, closer to Route 4 and I-90, as its business has been booming.

Regeneron makes several drugs, including one that treats age-related blindness that has made the company billions of dollars. It has also developed a COVID-19 treatment that is being used to treat non-hospitalized patients who have caught the deadly virus.

Regeneron spokeswoman Alexandra Bowie said there was no apparent connection between Tuesday’s announcement and the threat. Regeneron is one of the area’s largest employers with more than 3,000 workers and is growing in East Greenbush. The company headquarters is located in Tarrytown but all of its U.S. manufacturing takes place in East Greenbush.

“Yesterday morning we were notified of a bomb threat at our Tempel Lane campus,” Bowie said. “Police were contacted immediately, and our safety protocols were followed. Thankfully it was determined that the threat was unsubstantiated, and the site has resumed normal operations. We thank the East Greenbush Police Department and all law enforcement for their swift and thorough response.”

No one was injured during the scare.