George Blatz Rathmann (1927–2012) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, pioneer in

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

and corporate executive. In 1980 he co-founded and served as the first

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Amgen, and later founded

Icos Icos Corporation (trademark ICOS) was an American biotechnology company and the largest biotechnology company in the U.S. state of Washington, before it was sold to Eli Lilly and Company in 2007. It was founded in 1989 by David Blech, Isaac B ...

Background

Rathmann was born on December 25, 1927, in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. His mother was Edna Blatz, from the family who ran the Valentin Blatz Brewing Company. His father was Louis Rathmann, who worked in various local businesses. He was drawn to science and was inspired by an older brother and brother-in-law who were chemists, and by Mr. Leker, his high school chemistry teacher at

Milwaukee University School The University School of Milwaukee (often abbreviated to USM) is an independent pre-kindergarten through secondary preparatory school in River Hills and Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populou ...

(where his grandfather had taught years before). He had originally planned to attend

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

, before switching to

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...

and obtained a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in physical chemistry at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in three years, then earning a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

at Princeton in 1951, by which time he had already been recruited by 3M as a research chemist, where he worked for twenty-one years, helping develop

Scotchgard Scotchgard is a 3M brand of products, a stain and durable water repellent applied to fabric, furniture, and carpets to protect them from stains. Scotchgard products typically rely on organofluorine chemicals as the main active ingredient along ...

and rising from scientist to corporate manager.

Leaving 3M

Rathmann left 3M in 1972 to become president of Litton Medical Systems, but was dis-satisfied and left in 1975 to join

Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...

as vice president of research and development in the diagnostics division. At Abbott, Rathmann became interested in

recombinant DNA Recombinant DNA (rDNA) molecules are DNA molecules formed by laboratory methods of genetic recombination (such as molecular cloning) that bring together genetic material from multiple sources, creating sequences that would not otherwise be foun ...

and other aspects of biotechnology, and was recruited in 1980 by venture capitalists to help found Amgen, where he would serve as chairman, president and CEO. In 1983, Rathmann joined the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the newly formed Biotechnology Industry Organization, and served as its chairman from 1987 to 1988. In 1990, Rathmann left Amgen to start Icos, a biotechnology company in the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

area. While at Icos, he raised the largest-ever-to-date private offering for a biotechnology company. The offering included an investment from

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

, Gates' first investment in biotechnology. Rathmann left the company in February 2000, and was replaced as CEO and chairman by Paul Clark, a former executive at Abbott, under whom Icos would decline and eventually be sold off to Eli Lilly. Rathmann received the first of the

Biotechnology Heritage Award The Biotechnology Heritage Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of biotechnology through discovery, innovation, and public understanding. It is presented annually at the Biotechnology Innovation ...

s from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the

Chemical Heritage Foundation The Science History Institute is an institution that preserves and promotes understanding of the history of science. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it includes a library, museum, archive, research center and conference center. It was fo ...

in 1999 in recognition of his career as a scientist and entrepreneur. In 2000, he endowed a professorship at Northwestern, held by

Chad Mirkin Chad Alexander Mirkin (born November 23, 1963) is an American chemist. He is the George B. Rathmann professor of chemistry, professor of medicine, professor of materials science and engineering, professor of biomedical engineering, and profess ...

. He died on April 22, 2012 in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

from kidney failure.

Awards and honors

*1987 and 1988, CEO of the year in 1987 and 1988 by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) *1992, BioPharm Achievement Award *1995, Glenn Seaborg Medal from the University of California-Los Angeles *1997, Bower Award for Business Leadership at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia *1999, Biotechnology Heritage Award, given by the Chemical Heritage Foundation and BIO *2000, Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement *2001, James Madison Medal from Princeton University On behalf of Amgen, he also received the Gift of Life Award from the Illinois Chapter of the National Kidney Foundation and the Annual Recognition Award from the Washington D.C. National Kidney Foundation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathmann, George 1927 births 2012 deaths American physical chemists Businesspeople from Milwaukee Northwestern University alumni Scientists from Milwaukee Princeton University alumni University School of Milwaukee alumni 20th-century American businesspeople