Bruce E. Wallace, a key figure in the start-up that was to become biotech behemoth Amgen, was killed in a paragliding accident on September 20 in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. He was 54, and is survived by his wife and four children.

During his 20 years with Amgen, Wallace did everything from choosing the company's location to designing and outfitting its laboratories. In recent years, Wallace headed the company's Environmental Health and Safety Office, and was active in the Amgen's community outreach program. Wallace is also remembered for his many contributions to the local Ventura County community.

After receiving a degree in political science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Wallace did graduate work in the UCLA biology department. In 1979, he received his PhD for his work on recombinant DNA and gene organization. While Wallace continued this research as a postdoc in Winston Salser's UCLA laboratory,...

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