George RathmannAMGEN
In the late 1970s, George B. Rathmann left his job as head of research and development for diagnostics at Abbott Laboratories to take the helm of a tiny start-up experimenting with a new technology—the ability to splice genes from one organism into another. The company’s name was Amgen, and it went on to become the world’s largest biotechnology company, making $15.6 billion in revenue last year alone, according to The New York Times. Because of his work at Amgen and subsequent biotech companies, Rathmann is considered one of the fathers of the biotechnology industry.
Rathmann died on Sunday (April 22) at his Palo Alto, California, home at the age of 84, from complications from pneumonia, the Los Angeles Times reported. Rathmann suffered from kidney failure ...
