David Lacey, M.D., is the head of Research at Amgen. Throughout a distinguished career, Dr. Lacey has focused on the use of science and technology to help create new medicines that make a difference in the lives of patients worldwide.

Since joining Amgen in 1994, Lacey has been responsible for a number of key research programs and has helped to make significant advancements in the understanding of bone biology. He played an important role in the discovery of osteoprotegerin (OPG) and in the understanding of the RANK/RANK Ligand pathway in bone metabolism. Amgen is currently evaluating denosumab, which specifically targets RANK Ligand, across a range of conditions, including osteoporosis, treatment-induced bone loss, bone metastases, multiple myeloma and rheumatoid arthritis. The company has filed for FDA approval of denosumab to treat and prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis in women, as well as to treat bone loss in patients undergoing hormone ablation for either prostate or breast cancer.

Lacey also initiated the clinical studies of KGF, which ultimately was approved as Kepivance® (palifermin) for chemotherapy patients with severe oral mucositis.

In addition to serving as the site leader for Amgen's South San Francisco R&D facility, Lacey oversees the Discovery Research organization, which encompasses some 150 programs at various stages of drug discovery and development in the therapeutic areas of Hematology/Oncology, Inflammation, Metabolic Disorders, Chemistry, Protein Science, and Neuroscience.

Before joining Amgen, Lacey was on the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., where he taught pathology residents and medical students and pursued NIH-funded research in bone cell biology. Lacey received his M.D. from the University of Colorado and is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and the International Bone and Mineral Society.