Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome. It is now 10:30 A.M. and time to call the annual meeting of shareholders of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to order. I'm Len Schleifer, Co-Chair of the Board and President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. As you have seen in our proxy materials, we are utilizing a virtual-only meeting format. This format has been designed to ensure that our shareholders are afforded similar rights and opportunities to participate as they would at an in-person meeting. Participating in today's meeting are Dr. George Yancopoulos, Co-Chair of the Board and President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron, and Joe LaRosa, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary and secretary of this meeting.
Also present or connected by audio this morning are other senior officers of Regeneron: Chris Fenimore, Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer; Marion McCourt, Executive Vice President, Commercial; Dr. Andrew Murphy, Executive Vice President, Research; Sally Paull, Executive Vice President, Human Resources; Jay Pitofsky, Vice President and Controller; Dr. Neil Stahl, Executive Vice President, Research and Development; and Dr. Brian Zambrowicz, Executive Vice President, Functional Genomics and Chief of Velocigene Operations. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the management of Regeneron, I want to thank you for your attendance at our annual meeting of shareholders and for the solid return of proxies. Before we proceed, I will ask Mr. LaRosa to review a few housekeeping items and to submit the required proof of mailing and advise us as to whether the necessary quorum is present.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The meeting is being recorded and will be made available on the investor relations portion of our company website. Returning now to the business of the meeting, the agenda for today's meeting, indicating the order in which we plan to deal with the business before us and the rules of conduct, are posted on the virtual meeting website. As in prior years, the company used the notice and access method of providing proxy materials to shareholders via the internet. Accordingly, the first order of business is the proof of the mailing of the notice of internet availability of proxy materials for the annual meeting. I have an affidavit signed by Ms. Joanne Vogel, an employee of Broadridge Financial Solutions, with respect to the mailing for the annual meeting, which commenced on April 25th, 2024.
Copies of the proxy statement and our 2023 Form 10-K are posted on the virtual meeting website. An inspector of election has been appointed. The inspector is Ms. Tracy Oates, a representative of Broadridge Financial Solutions. The inspector of elections has delivered a certificate to the effect that we have present, by proxy or in person, holders of record of Regeneron common stock and Class A stock representing a majority of the votes of all shares entitled to vote at this meeting. Therefore, we have a quorum present.
Thank you, Mr. LaRosa. As noted, a short list of rules of conduct for the meeting has been made available. The business of the meeting is to allow shareholders of the company to vote on four matters set out in the agenda. After those matters have been voted upon, Dr. Yancopoulos and I will present a brief business overview of the company, and we will respond to questions from shareholders. In a moment, I will officially open the polls, which will allow you to vote electronically if you have logged into this meeting as a shareholder. Please note that if you have already submitted your proxy, there is no need to vote during the meeting unless you would like to change your vote. Voting during the meeting will revoke your prior proxy. I declare the polls now open.
The polls will close today following the presentation of the items of business. We are now ready to proceed to the items that you will vote on this morning. At this time, I would like to introduce the directors, all of whom are present this morning. In addition to Dr. Yancopoulos and me, we have Christine Poon, the board's lead independent director; Dr. Bonnie Bassler; Dr. Michael Brown; Dr. Tony Coles; Dr. Joe Goldstein; Kathryn Guarini; Art Ryan; Dr. David Schenkein; George Sing; Dr. Craig Thompson; and Dr. Huda Zoghbi. Mr. LaRosa, will you please outline the four items of business set out in the agenda?
Mr. Chairman, the first item of business is the election of four Class III directors for a three-year term and one Class II director for a two-year term, in each case until a successor is duly elected. The nominees for Class III directors are Dr. Tony Coles, Dr. Kathryn Guarini, Art Ryan, and George Sing. The nominee for Class II director is Dr. David Schenkein. Each of the nominees is currently a member of the Board of Directors and has been duly nominated. The Board of Directors has recommended a vote for each of the nominees. The second item of business is the ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP now serves as the company's independent registered public accounting firm and has served in that role since 1988.
The representative of that firm, who is with us by audio, is Sonia Luaces. Thank you for joining, Ms. Luaces. PricewaterhouseCoopers has been recommended and appointed by the audit committee of the Board of Directors to serve as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. The Board of Directors has directed that this appointment be submitted for ratification by the shareholders at this annual meeting and has recommended a vote for such ratification. The third item of business is an advisory vote on the compensation of the company's named executive officers, as disclosed in the proxy statement. The Board of Directors has recommended a vote on an advisory basis for approval of the compensation of our named executive officers. The fourth and final item of business, if properly presented, is a non-binding shareholder proposal requesting simple majority voting requirements.
For the reasons described in the proxy statement, the Board of Directors has recommended a vote against this proposal.
Thank you, Mr. LaRosa. Operator, if present, please allow the shareholder proponent to provide his statement at this time.
Hello, this is John Chevedden. Proposal four, simple majority vote. So it is requested that the Board of Directors take the necessary steps so that each voting requirement in our charter and bylaws that calls for a greater than simple majority vote be replaced by a requirement for a majority of the votes cast for and against such proposals for a simple majority. This includes making the necessary changes in plain English. Shareholders are willing to pay a premium for shares of companies that have excellent corporate governance. Super majority voting requirements have been found to be one of six entrenching mechanisms that are negatively related to company performance according to What Matters in Corporate Governance by Lucian Bebchuk of the Harvard Law School. Super majority requirements are used to block initiatives supported by most shareholders but opposed by status quo management.
This proposal topic won from 74%-88% support at Weyerhaeuser, Alcoa, Waste Management, Goldman Sachs, FirstEnergy, and Macy's. These votes would have been higher than 74%-88% if more shareholders had access to independent proxy voting advice. This proposal topic also received overwhelming 98% support at the 2023 annual meetings of American Airlines and the Carlyle Group. This proposal would remove the outrageously bad provision that requires an 80% vote of all Regeneron shares outstanding to remove a director who fails to attend board meetings. Please vote yes, simple majority vote proposal four.
Thank you. If any shareholder has a question relating to any of the proposals, please submit it using the virtual meeting website and identify yourself. As a reminder, there will be ample opportunity for general questions about the company later in the proceedings. There are no further questions or comments. I will be closing the polls momentarily. Most of you have already voted by proxy and do not need to vote again at this time unless you wish to change your vote. However, if anyone would like to vote, please do so now. I declare the polls now closed. I would like to call on the inspector of election to provide a preliminary report on the results of the voting.
Mr. Chairman, the preliminary results of the voting are as follows. With respect to the first item of business, the election of four Class III for a three-year term and one Class II director for a two-year term, all nominees have been elected by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy at this meeting. With respect to the second item of business, ratification of the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, such appointment has been ratified by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy at this meeting.
With respect to the third item of business, approval on an advisory basis of compensation of the company's named executive officers as disclosed in the proxy statement, such compensation has been approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy at this meeting. With respect to the fourth and last item of business, the non-binding shareholder proposal requesting simple majority voting requirements, a majority of the votes cast in person or by proxy at this meeting voted in favor and therefore the proposal has been approved. My certificate as inspector of election will be executed and delivered to the secretary of the meeting.
Thank you for that, Inspector. Dr. Yancopoulos and I will now provide an update on the company, after which we and our colleagues will be glad to answer your questions. So welcome again and thanks again to everyone for joining us today. George and I are happy to have the opportunity to share an overview of Regeneron's progress over the past year, as well as our vision and long-term outlook. I would like to remind you that remarks made today may include forward-looking statements about Regeneron. Each forward-looking statement is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in that statement. Please refer to Regeneron's SEC filings for additional information. Now let's begin.
Many of you have followed and supported our journey over the past 36 years, from a small, ambitious startup to a now over $110 billion market cap company that reached an all-time high share price just this morning, and that remains just as ambitious. I wanted to open by reflecting on the core tenets that brought us here and still hold true today. First, we follow the science. We invent the technologies of tomorrow that have made us undisputed leaders in antibody therapeutics and on the cutting edge of multiple other modalities. Our scientific pursuit has allowed us to impact the lives of millions of patients across dozens of diseases. In order to maintain this track record of success, we consistently prioritize investment in research and development and are among the industry leaders in terms of the percentage of revenue reinvested in research and development.
Investing in our R&D and ourselves will always be our most important and impactful investment. As we have matured into a large-cap biopharmaceutical leader, we have taken a stance to defend patient access and industry innovation. We have set responsible standards in drug pricing by not increasing Eylea's price for 12 years, and we also encourage the protection of novel discoveries and intellectual property coming from the innovative biotech sector. Finally, we continue to support the future of STEM and STEM leaders so that biotechnology innovation and patient impact can flourish for generations to come. We are deeply committed to investing in the next generation of scientific leaders through programs like Regeneron Science Talent Search, Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, and many other programs focused on building the STEM ecosystem.
Taken together, our success is rooted in doing what we believe is right for patients, society, and our shareholders. As we execute on our mission, our strategic business approach focuses on sustaining our leadership in ophthalmology founded on Eylea 2 mg and now further extended with the strong initial performance of Eylea HD, which is on its way to becoming a new standard of care. Deepening and expanding our market share in immunology, where Dupixent is a leader in five existing FDA indications and potentially more in the pipeline. Executing on our promising oncology portfolio, which centers on our fully owned PD-1 inhibitor, Libtayo, and includes multiple potential combinations and novel approaches. As already noted, investing in R&D remains our top capital allocation priority, and we anticipate investing approximately $5 billion in 2024 alone.
Our ongoing share repurchase program provides us with additional flexibility to return capital to shareholders over time, and we also continue to bolster our pipeline with select synergistic collaborations and acquisitions. Looking to the future, we have over 35 therapeutic candidates in clinical development and continue to invest heavily in our homegrown science, technology, and pipeline, helping to build a diversified future with new modalities, technologies, and collaborations. Regeneron has made remarkable achievements this past year, which further positioned the company to deliver sustainable growth and long-term shareholder value. First, the FDA approval and successful launch of Eylea HD was game-changing for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye diseases and positions our retinal franchise for continued leadership.
Dupixent continued to demonstrate substantial growth, and following the disclosure of unprecedented clinical data for the second pivotal study of Dupixent in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, we are looking forward to a potential launch later this year. We also made significant progress in 2023 toward our long-term goal of becoming a global leader in oncology, highlighted by the FDA acceptance of our BLA for linvoseltamab in myeloma, while continuing to advance other opportunities in solid tumors. Finally, our early-stage pipeline generated intriguing data across hematology, genetic medicine, and obesity. In a few minutes, George will run through those opportunities, which we believe have the potential to be first or best in class.
To quickly touch on the categories just mentioned, first quarter 2020 combined revenues for Eylea HD and Eylea were approximately $1.4 billion, with a combined anti-VEGF market share in the United States of 45% in the first quarter of 2024. Importantly, Eylea HD generated $200 million in its second full quarter on the U.S. market, outperforming recent launches in the anti-VEGF category. Now, with the permanent J code in place, improving payer coverage, broad prescriber satisfaction with the clinical profile, and direct-to-consumer promotion underway, we continue to position Eylea HD as a new standard of care for retinal diseases. Moving on to Dupixent, first quarter global net product sales grew 25% to $3.1 billion. With over 850,000 patients currently on therapy around the world, Dupixent has been approved in five FDA indications with positive pivotal results in seven Type 2 allergic diseases.
We are also anticipating results in chronic pruritus of unknown origin and bullous pemphigoid later this year. We are very excited about potentially adding its sixth FDA indication in September of this year for COPD with a Type 2 inflammatory phenotype in both current and former smokers. If approved, Dupixent would be the only biologic therapy for COPD and the first new treatment approach for this disease in more than a decade. There is high unmet need in COPD with Type 2 inflammation, with approximately 300,000 such patients in the United States and another approximately 300,000 such patients in the EU and Japan. We are also seeking approvals there. Recently, the European Medicines Agency, CHMP, adopted a positive opinion recommending the approval of Dupixent for COPD in the European Union, and we look forward to a potential approval in the coming months.
Dupixent is truly a pipeline and a product and has delivered life-changing results for countless patients. Our PD-1 inhibitor, Libtayo, serves as the backbone of our portfolio of combination oncology approaches and is also making a meaningful contribution to our top line. First quarter 2024 global net sales reached $264 million, representing an increase of 44% year-over-year. We are well on our way to surpassing $1 billion in net sales, adding another blockbuster drug to our portfolio. Libtayo leads the market in non-melanoma skin cancers, and we also continue to expand the reach of Libtayo in non-small cell lung cancer. I'm energized by our strong momentum as we continue to accelerate growth and market leadership of our commercialized products across numerous therapeutic areas. Now, I will turn the call to George, who will discuss what's on the horizon.
Thanks, Len. One of the things that I'm most proud of after leading R&D at Regeneron for over three decades is that we continue to relentlessly innovate by pushing the boundaries of science and technology in the pursuit of breakthroughs for patients. This past year was filled with scientific firsts that have the potential to once again change the practice of medicine. From developing the first biologic to achieve clinically meaningful results in COPD, to pioneering novel combinations in oncology, to developing a novel approach to potentially reverse severe allergy, and extending to our new approaches in genetic medicines.
From the first combination of an antibody with an siRNA, to restoring hearing in a profoundly deaf child, to progressing to the first phase III trial involving in vivo CRISPR gene editing in collaboration with Intellia, to silencing a pathological gene in the brain in collaboration with Alnylam, Regeneron has been relentless, and our future has never been more promising. Today, I will review some of the highlights of our expanding pipeline, all of which represent the next wave of innovation at Regeneron. As Len just mentioned, based on unprecedented data as the first and only biologic to achieve clinically meaningful and statistically significant reduction in COPD exacerbations, as well as improvements in lung function in a phase III trial, we are seeking approval for Dupixent in COPD and expect to hear from the FDA by September 27th of this year.
In addition to Dupixent, we are evaluating itepekimab, our IL-33 antibody in former smokers with COPD, regardless of eosinophilic phenotype. We remain on track to report phase 3 results and enable potential global regulatory filings next year. Next is our innovative approach for severe allergies, a first-ever combination of an immunomodulatory antibody, that is Dupixent, combined with a bispecific antibody. Despite the remarkable benefit demonstrated by Dupixent across multiple diseases characterized by allergic or Type 2 inflammation, Dupixent alone does not immediately reverse severe allergies by itself. These allergies are caused by high levels of an immunoglobulin class known as IgE, made by long-lived plasma cells. Regeneron scientists have shown that these allergy-causing Ig plasma cells can be rapidly eliminated with a short course of treatment with our bispecific antibody known as linvoseltamab, while subsequent Dupixent treatment prevents these cells from returning.
Our proof-of-concept clinical trial is underway to explore the potential for this approach to eliminate severe food allergy, and we hope to see initial results later this year. In oncology, Regeneron has validated three independent classes of internally developed immuno-oncology agents in clinical trials: the so-called checkpoint inhibitor antibodies, the CD3 class of bispecific antibody that Regeneron was the first to introduce into the clinic, as well as the CD28 co-stimulatory class of bispecifics, which Regeneron also pioneered. Next, I'd like to talk about a program combining two of our checkpoint inhibitors, fianlimab and cemiplimab, which is our most advanced immuno-oncology development program in solid tumors. Recall, fianlimab-Libtayo combination demonstrated potential for best-in-class efficacy in first-line metastatic melanoma, with objective response rates of approximately 60% across three independent cohorts from our first in-human study, with a safety profile similar to that seen with anti-PD-1 monotherapy.
Encouraged by these results, last year we initiated a phase II-III study of the combination of fianlimab and Libtayo in first-line metastatic melanoma. As this study was enrolling faster than expected, it will now be conducted solely as a phase III study, with the final analysis to be reported during 2025. Next, to our CD3 class of bispecifics, and in particular, the most advanced candidates in hematology-oncology. Linvoseltamab, our BCMA x CD3 bispecific, continues to demonstrate a potentially best-in-class profile in late-line myeloma in terms of efficacy, safety, dosing, and hospitalization burden. We're also evaluating linvoseltamab in earlier stages of myeloma and in precursor conditions, such as smoldering myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance, or MGUS. Odronextamab, our CD20 x CD3 bispecific, received complete response letters from the FDA for our BLA for relapsed refractory follicular lymphoma and relapsed refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
The only approvability issue was related to the limited enrollment of the confirmatory trials, which we are addressing as we continue to enroll patients in these studies. An FDA decision on odronextamab is expected in the second half of this year. Moving on to our CD28 co-stimulatory bispecifics. These bispecific antibodies are being tested in numerous studies, as well as in combination with our CD3 bispecifics and with Libtayo. We recently presented updated dose escalation results for our EGFR x CD28 bispecific in combination with Libtayo. Most notably, in microsatellite stable colorectal cancer, a tumor historically unresponsive to immunotherapy, our CD3 EGFR x CD28 bispecific in combination with Libtayo demonstrated anti-tumor activity. To date, we have not observed severe immune-related adverse events with this agent at our recommended phase II dose.
We will soon initiate combination treatment of our PSMA x CD28 co-stim bispecific with our PSMA x CD3 bispecific in prostate cancer, which, based on preclinical studies, may maintain efficacy but with better tolerability. Additionally, we're also evaluating our MUC16 x CD28 co-stimulator bispecific with ubamatamab, our MUC16 x CD3 bispecific, as well as with Libtayo, our CD38 x CD28 co-stim with linvoseltamab for myeloma, and our CD22 x CD28 co-stim with odronextamab for lymphoma. On to the hot topic of obesity, where we think Regeneron can make a meaningful difference in improving the quality of weight loss. To this end, our most advanced approach is designed to address potential negative consequences of widespread use of GLP-1 and GIP receptor modulators.
As has been widely reported, the profound weight loss caused by these agents, unfortunately, can also result in substantial loss of muscle, which is particularly concerning in older obese patients. To combat this, our data in obese non-human primates show that combining semaglutide with trevogrumab, a Regeneron antibody targeting myostatin with or without garetosmab, our antibody targeting Activin A or myostatin too, demonstrated a comparable or greater reduction in body weight at week 20 relative to semaglutide monotherapy, but with improved quality of weight loss. Part A of our proof-of-concept study, which was conducted to demonstrate the safety and tolerability of a higher dose of trevogrumab in healthy volunteers, did not identify any new safety concerns.
Based on these results, Part B of the study, which will evaluate weight loss, maintenance of weight loss following semaglutide discontinuation, and lean muscle preservation in patients with obesity, remains on track to start recruitment later this month. A very exciting program. Shifting to genetic medicine approaches, where we have established clinical proof-of-concept across several diseases using multiple genetic medicine modalities. Our collaboration with Alnylam using siRNA has not only demonstrated successful silencing of genes in the liver, but also, for the first time, for siRNA in the brain. Our C5 approach involves a first-in-class combination of an siRNA with an antibody for more complete target blockade, and our initial clinical data supports potential best-in-class efficacy in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, or PNH. Additionally, we are excited about initiating a potential pivotal study for ALN-SOD1 in ALS patients with SOD1 mutations.
In our collaboration with Intellia for CRISPR gene editing, we are rapidly enrolling patients in the phase III study of NTLA-2001 for a lead indication of TTR amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy, the first in vivo CRISPR program cleared to enter phase III studies in the United States. And finally, in AAV gene therapy, we recently presented data that made headlines across the globe. DB-OTO, otoferlin gene therapy, is Regeneron's first clinical program for genetic hearing loss. We recently shared preliminary results involving a 10-month-old girl who was profoundly deaf at baseline. Remarkably, after 24 weeks of treatment, this little girl not only began responding to sound but eventually progressed to have hearing within the normal range. The second pediatric patient, who is 4 years old, is following a similar trajectory of improvement through early stages of follow-up.
Here is the first child who was born completely deaf due to mutations in the otoferlin gene, and who was dosed unilaterally with DB-OTO gene therapy at 10 months old. Within 4 weeks of receiving DB-OTO, as part of the core trial, she began responding to sound in the treated ear. Her hearing improved until reaching normal levels at 24 weeks, and now, at 18 months old, she is beginning to say her first words, including da-da and bye-bye. It is notable that even with cochlear implants or hearing aids, which are the current standard of care, young patients like this still experience developmental delays as these devices do not restore the full spectrum of hearing. This indicates residual areas of tremendous unmet need in hearing loss that we're hoping to address.
We are aiming to enroll several more patients this year in this trial, potentially enabling regulatory submissions by the end of next year. This incredible moving data reflects our core motivation at Regeneron: to push the bounds of science and technology to make novel, life-changing medicines for children like this and millions of others living with debilitating conditions. Looking across our full pipeline, you can see how robust and diverse our suite of potential medicines really are. We have 12 drugs that have been approved or authorized in the United States and/or other countries. These approvals cover 36 indications, including six for Dupixent, seven for Eylea, three for Eylea HD, and five with Libtayo. Regeneron's R&D edge is truly unparalleled in terms of homegrown innovation, with selective partnerships furthering our potential impact.
This slide lists anticipated milestones for 2024, many of which I've already mentioned, spanning ophthalmology, immunology, oncology, hematology, as well as new focus areas of genetic medicines and obesity. We have already checked off many and look forward to accomplishing the rest of these important milestones in the remainder of 2024. The scope of our work is broad and diverse, which requires significant sustained investment. Our ability to drive long-term growth is contingent on a disciplined approach to capital allocation priorities. As mentioned by Len in the upfront, we continue to invest in our R&D engine and our expanding pipeline, as well as our people and our infrastructure. We are also interested in select collaborations or acquisitions that complement our existing portfolio and expand upon Regeneron's extensive in-house capabilities, strengthening our collective ability to address serious diseases.
Our strong financial position provides the flexibility to invest in the business while returning substantial value to shareholders. Since our founding, Regeneron's mantra has been "Doing well by doing good." We do this through improving the lives of those with serious diseases, fostering a culture of integrity and excellence within Regeneron, and building sustainable communities. We recognize that acting responsibly is crucial to ensuring the long-term success of our company and fulfilling our mission to use the power of science to repeatedly bring new medicines to patients. We are looking forward to continuing to do so in the years ahead. Thank you for joining us today, and I turn it back to Len.
Thank you, George, for that great summary of what we've done and what we hope to do. I now declare the meeting open for questions. Mr. Secretary, if you received any questions, please present them.
Yes, Mr. Chairman. We have a number of questions from some shareholders. I will read them as they were presented. Question number one comes from DWS Group, and it goes as follows: Will you consider appointing additional independent directors in the near future to ensure a majority of independent directors of the board? As a follow-up question, will you consider appointing a new lead independent director to counterbalance the roles of non-independent chairpersons?
Thank you for that question. Regeneron already has a majority of independent directors, and Regeneron already has a lead independent director who was appointed just last year. Next question, please.
Next question comes from the same shareholder. Directors should not hold excessive number of mandates. Directors must ensure that they have sufficient time and capacity to fulfill their board commitments. DWS considers directors overboarded in case they hold more than five external non-executive mandates.
For directors who hold executive positions on any board, our limit is two additional non-executive mandates. Further, due to their extended responsibilities, DWS attributes an additional mandate to members assuming the role of CEO, chair position of the board, or the chair position of the audit committee. In this regard, we note that Mr. David P. Schenkein is currently overboarded according to our DWS corporate governance and proxy voting policies. Are there any plans for Mr. David P. Schenkein to reduce his overall mandates by the next AGM? And as follow-up question, can we expect a rotation of the audit firm before the next AGM?
Thank you for those questions. Regeneron already has a publicly disclosed director commitment policy, which is in line with corporate best practices. The board and the corporate governance committee carefully consider commitments of our directors when making the decision whether to nominate them to the board.
Under the policy, directors may serve on a total of four boards, including Regeneron's. We do not expect to change this policy at this time. With respect to rotation of our audit firm, we comply with all the requirements applicable to Regeneron for maintaining PwC's independence. This includes audit partner rotation. Are there more questions?
Yes, there are. Next question from the same shareholder. What does Regeneron look for in a potential acquisition?
Thanks again for that question. Regeneron has a very well-thought-out capital allocation strategy, which we highlighted during our presentation. First and foremost, we will always invest in our internal R&D, but we are always open to acquisitions or collaborations that further our long-term strategy, particularly those that are complementary to our science and platforms or otherwise synergistic. Additional questions?
Yes, there are additional questions.
As a prerogative for us, we strongly support the one-share, one-vote principle and regard the existence or creation of different share classes as a measure that denies the equal treatment of shareholders. The adequate treatment of (parenthetically minority) shareholders' interests and proposals must be ensured. We note that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. maintains a multi-class capital structure. Such capital structures with unequal voting rights create a misalignment between economic interests and voting rights, which can disenfranchise shareholders holding stock with inferior voting rights. In addition, the company's multi-class structure is not subject to a reasonable time-based sunset provision, which goes against our support for the one-share, one-vote principle. Question is, when can we expect the company to introduce a reasonable time-based sunset provision regarding its dual-class capital structure?
Thanks for that question. We have had a dual-class structure since our IPO, but we think there are several relevant mitigating factors that should be considered when assessing this legacy feature of Regeneron's governance, particularly when compared to other founder-led companies. First, while multi-class capital structure of some companies enables the holders of high-vote shares to outvote all other shareholders, this is not the case for Regeneron's dual-class voting structure. No new shares of Class A stock have been issued since our IPO in 1991, and the number of shares has been steadily decreasing since that time from 10.9 million to 1.8 million as of the record date for the 2024 annual meeting. At the time of Regeneron's IPO, outstanding shares of Regeneron's Class A stock represent approximately 95% of total shareholder votes.
As of the record date of the 2024 annual meeting, outstanding shares of Class A stock represented only approximately 14% of total shareholder votes. Importantly, the voting rights granted holders of Class A stock cannot be unilaterally changed by the board or by a vote of the holders of common stock. Such rights may be amended only with the affirmative vote of holders of the majority of the shares of Class A stock. Further questions?
Yes, Mr. Chairman. We have another question from the same shareholder. Please advise the current day job for Kathryn Guarini. When will Arthur Ryan, at age 81, retire?
Thank you for that question. Kathryn is the former Chief Information Officer of IBM. To my understanding, she currently does not have a current full-time employment position. With respect to Art, Regeneron does not have a mandatory retirement age or policy.
That being said, the board has a well-thought-out refreshment policy. The board believes it is desirable to maintain a mix of longer-tenured, experienced directors who have developed enhanced knowledge and understanding of and valuable insight into the company and its operations, and newer directors with fresh perspectives. In the last 18 months, 2 longer-tenured directors have retired, and we have added 3 new directors. We expect to continue on a path of deliberate and thoughtful refreshment. Additional questions, Mr. Secretary?
Mr. Chairman, we have a question from shareholder Nicholas Esposito. What factors would be considered in contemplating a share buyback?
Thanks for that question. As you may or may not be aware, we actually have been conducting buybacks for several years right now. And we prioritize our capital allocation first and foremost to our research and development efforts, and then opportunistically in share buyback programs. Is there an additional question?
Yes, additional questions from Mr. Esposito. Is the company considering other assets internally or externally in obesity outside of the ongoing work in muscle preserving with trevogrumab and garetosmab?
Dr. Yancopoulos, can you handle that question?
We have a variety of additional approaches outside the ongoing work in muscle preserving with those two antibodies that you mentioned. We have internally discovered novel targets that seem to combat obesity by entirely different mechanisms than the current GLP-1-related approaches. We are building our own GLP-1-based approaches that we think have a chance to improve upon those existing approaches. And we have a variety of additional genetic medicines approaches that we think can also combat obesity and provide metabolic benefit in a variety of other ways as well. So we have a long-standing, ongoing, very broad pipeline in the field of obesity and related metabolic diseases.
Thanks, George. Additional question?
Yes. We have a question from David Hoss, shareholder David Hoss. What competitive threats do intraocularly administered RTK inhibitors represent to Eylea?
George?
Well, we are always aware of other approaches that try to provide similar benefits to Eylea. At this point, there's no evidence that these agents would provide more benefit. And of course, it'll take a lot of data to show that they could have the safety profiles that Eylea has been able to deliver to patients over these many years.
Thank you, George. Mr. Secretary?
Mr. Chairman, we have one final question from shareholder Mr. Nicholas Esposito. What is Regeneron investing in to complement Dupixent and itepekimab? How is the company viewing other targets such as IL-13, TSLP, and OX-40?
George?
Well, first of all, remember that Dupixent is a dual inhibitor of both the interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 pathways, and there's no evidence that solely blocking IL-13 can deliver the sort of benefit that dual blockade can provide with very similar safety profile. We are certainly looking at other agents or other interleukins and other factors that are active in these inflammatory arenas that we operate in. We have an assortment of approaches to address them, and we're always considering which ones to either combine either independently or using unimolecular approaches. So we're looking very extensively at all of these.
Are there any further questions, Mr. Secretary, at this time?
Mr. Chairman, there are no further questions.
Okay. Thank you very much. The meeting now stands adjourned. Thanks to everyone for attending today's meeting, and have a wonderful weekend.
The meeting has now concluded. Thank you for joining, and have a pleasant day.