Regeneron’s top scientist leads a hunt for genes to fend off disease

A billionaire scientist studies genetic mutations to target disease

George Yancopoulos is the chief scientific officer at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, which makes drugs that treat cardiovascular disease and vision loss. (The vision-loss drug Eylea has helped make the company the best performer on the S&P 500 over the past five years—and helped make Yancopoulos rich.) Now, Regeneron is sequencing the DNA of 250,000 volunteers in an effort to identify and mimic mutations that protect against diseases ranging from high cholesterol to depression. Treatments are being developed for asthma, arthritis, and osteoporosis. “There’s nothing better than science, nothing better than what we’re doing,” says Yancopoulos, whose company took over the national Science Talent Search competition from Intel last month. “We’re just getting started.” <BW>