Description
George Rathmann was a chemist and biologist most known for his position as the first CEO of the biotechnology company Amgen. Before entering the world of biotechnology, Rathmann worked at 3M for about 20 years, where he worked on developing Scotchgard. Later, he was the Vice President of Research and Development for the Diagnostics Division of Abbott Laboratories. In 1980 he was recruited to run Amgen, and he served as its CEO for eight years, where he oversaw the development of Epogen, an anemia drug, and Neupogen, which stimulates white blood cell growth in patients receiving chemotherapy. Before his death in 2012, Rathmann was treated with Epogen. In this interview, Rathmann discusses his education, first jobs, and the foundation and early years of Amgen.