Regeneron takes top spot in Science magazine’s 2012 Top Employers survey

Regeneron headquarters Tarrytown — Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.”™s Tarrytown headquarters. Courtesy of Regeneron.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Tarrytown was named the number one employer in the global pharmaceutical industry by Science magazine in its 2012 Top Employers survey, published in the magazine’s October issue.

With more than 1,800 employees in Westchester County, Rensselaer, where it houses the bulk of its manufacturing facilities, and Basking Ridge, N.J., Regeneron is among the fastest-growing biotech companies in New York state and has won recognition from numerous state, regional and local economic development organizations.

In the magazine’s 2012 survey, Regeneron traded places with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Cambridge, Mass., which ranked second after taking the top spot last year.

Rounding out the top five were Genentech, based in the San Francisco area, Novo Nordisk, based in Denmark, and Monsanto Co., based in Creve Coeur, Mo.

The annual survey was conducted from March 7 to March 21, with the results based on 4,276 responses.