Biotech pioneer Rathmann passes away

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) said founding CEO George Rathmann died Sunday. Rathmann, 84, had suffered from kidney failure. He was Amgen's founding CEO from 1980-88 and chairman until 1990. He later co-founded and was chairman and CEO of Icos Corp., now part of Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY).

Before Amgen, Rathmann was VP of R&D for the diagnostics division of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT). He received a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Princeton University and a B.S. in biology and chemistry from Northwestern University. ...