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Dr. Alejandro Zaffaroni (born 1923) is a serial entrepreneur who is responsible for founding several successful biotechnology in Silicon Valley.
Born in 1923 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Dr. Zaffaroni received his B.Sc. from the University of Montevideo in 1945, and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Rochester in 1949. 1
He joined Syntex, then a small chemical company in Mexico, as a biochemist in 1951.2 He played a leading role in transforming Syntex into a major multinational pharmaceutical company based in Palo Alto, Calif, and was appointed president of the U.S. subsidiary in 1962.
In 1968, he founded Alza (an acronym of his own name) to pursue his concept of improving medical treatment through controlled drug delivery. He had seen the side effects that many medicines produced when they were sent to the bloodstream all in one massive dose and knew there had to be a better way. By studying endocrinology – where glands deliver very small amounts of hormones but have a tremendous effect – he was convinced that delivering drugs in small, steady doses would be more effective. 3
Alza's first controlled drug delivery product was used to treat glaucoma, a common eye disease that impairs vision and often causes blindness. Other successful products that incorporate Zaffaroni's drug delivery technologies include Glucotrol, for non-insulin-dependent diabetes; Duragesic, for management of severe chronic pain; NicoDerm CQ, for smoking cessation; and Transderm-Scop, to prevent nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness. 4
In 1980, Zaffaroni established DNAX, a developer of macromolecular products that combines the technologies of genetic engineering and immunobiology. 5
In 1988 he co-founded Affymax, pioneer of combinatorial chemistry that dramatically reduces the cost and time identifying promising medicines.
In 1991 he founded Affymetrix, a leader in human genetics for understanding, diagnosing, and treating disease. He was also involved in the creation of Perlegen Sciences, an Affymetrix spin-off working on improving drugs and finding genetic causes of disease.
In 1994, he founded Symyx Technologies, a company dedicated to utilizing combinatorial chemistry technologies to find new materials.
Other companies he founded include Maxygen (1997), a developer of broad technologies that improve the evolution of proteins and genetic elements, and SurroMed, focusing on the development of novel technologies for surrogate disease markers. In 2000, he founded Alexza Pharmaceuticals, a company working on rapid onset of action drug delivery technologies.
In 1995, Dr. Zaffaroni received the National Medal of Technology from President Bill Clinton for his contributions to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In 2005 he received the Bower Award for Business Leadership from the Franklin Institute for his creation, through a combination of scientific creativity and entrepreneurial insight, of new biochemical processes and drug delivery technologies. Also in 2005 he was awarded the Gregory Pincus Award from the Worcester Foundation for his pioneering accomplishments.
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