Tarrytown's pharmaceutical company was recently named among the nation's 20 best places to work in the science industry. The honor came from The Scientist magazine and it marks a rise in their rankings from 23 last year to 13 this year.
The company opened its offices here on Old Saw Mill River Road in 1989. When Susan Croll, currently the Associate Director of Pain and Neurology, started there twenty years ago, the company had about 150 employees. It has grown astronomically to its near-1,800 now. “We've actually been hiring in this economy over the last couple of years,” Croll said.
In fact, in just 2011 alone, they had 101 research and development new hires for a total population of 1,742 employees, 707 of them in R&D.
When asked what she attributed this “best place to work” status to, Croll cited the culture of the employees, a group with a “whole lot of energy and drive.” The goal being: “do the right thing, do it well, and do it quickly.”
She added that it was never her intent to be in this industry so long, but “this place just keeps me here.”
Integrity was a theme in the rankings, and one of the items listed as Regeneron's strongest traits. “We are really trying to help with human diseases. That's our priority,” Croll said.
One significant achievement cited by the article was Regeneron's 2011 approval and launch of EYLEA (aflibercept) Injection—a fusion protein designed to treat patients suffering from eye disorders characterized by abnormal blood vessels and leakage of fluid in the retina and macula.
From The Scientist article:
“Back in 2003, when The Scientist launched its Best Places to Work series, the biotech and pharma industries looked a bit different than they do today. Ten years ago, in the wake of large industry scandals involving Enron and ImClone, industry research scientists said that they wanted nothing more than to work for a company that had integrity.”
If you were at the street fair on Sunday, you couldn't miss Regeneron out in full force with an extensive area of kid-friendly demos and science experiments (and free balloons and cupcakes). Community outreach is very important to the company, said Croll. “We are not just a castle onto ourselves.”
It's also a very creative place to work, Croll said. “We really encourage thinking outside of the box at every level, just not PhD but even entry level positions. It's very intellectually stimulating here.”
For full results of the rankings click here.
