Alejandro Zaffaroni
{{Short description|American businessman and biotechnology entrepreneur}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Alejandro Zaffaroni
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image = Alejandro Zaffaroni 2006 BIO Award.JPG
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Biotechnology Heritage Award, 2006
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1923|2|27|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Montevideo, Uruguay
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|3|1|1923|2|27|mf=yes}}
| death_place = Atherton, California, US
| fields =
| workplaces =
| patrons =
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
- University of the Republic (BSc)
- University of Rochester (PhD)}}
| thesis_title = The Application of Paper Partition Chromatography to Steroid Analysis
| thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/301806040
| thesis_year = 1950
| doctoral_advisor =
| academic_advisors =
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students =
| known_for =
| author_abbrev_bot =
| author_abbrev_zoo =
| influences =
| influenced =
| awards =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
| spouse = Lida Zaffaroni
| children =
}}
Alejandro Zaffaroni (February 27, 1923 – March 1, 2014) was a Uruguayan serial entrepreneur who was responsible for founding several biotechnology companies in Silicon Valley.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/508187a| pmid = 24717508| title = Alejandro Zaffaroni (1923–2014) Bioentrepreneur who revolutionized drug delivery and screening| journal = Nature| volume = 508| issue = 7495| pages = 187| year = 2014| last1 = Shaw | first1 = Jane E. | doi-access = free}}{{Scopus|id=7004283775}}{{Cite journal
| pmid = 14907764
| year = 1951
| last1 = Zaffaroni
| first1 = A
| title = Identification of corticosteroids of beef adrenal extract by paper chromatography
| journal = The Journal of Biological Chemistry
| volume = 193
| issue = 2
| pages = 749–67
| last2 = Burton
| first2 = R. B.
| doi = 10.1016/S0021-9258(18)50931-5
| doi-access = free
}} Products that he was involved in developing include the birth control pill, the nicotine patch, corticosteroids, and the DNA microarray.{{cite news|last1=Pollack|first1=Andrew|title=Alejandro Zaffaroni, Entrepreneur on Biotech Frontier, Dies at 91|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/business/alejandro-zaffaroni-biotechnology-entrepreneur-dies-at-91.html?_r=0|access-date=17 March 2016|work=The New York Times|date=March 6, 2014}}
Education
Zaffaroni was born on February 27, 1923, in Montevideo. Zaffaroni was of Italian descent, as his grandfather migrated from Italy to Uruguay at the age of 16. Both of Zaffaroni's parents passed away early in his life; his mother when he was 12 and his father when he was 18. His father was in the banking business. Zaffaroni received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the Republic in 1945, and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Rochester in 1949.[https://web.archive.org/web/20030302042303/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/zaffaroni.html Inventor of the Week: Alejandro Zaffaroni]
Career
Zaffaroni joined Syntex, then a small chemical company in Mexico, as a biochemist in 1951. He participated in turning Syntex into a major multinational pharmaceutical company, moving it to Palo Alto, California. He was appointed president of the U.S. subsidiary in 1962.
In 1968, he founded ALZA, a syllabic abbreviation of his name, to develop medical treatments through controlled drug delivery. He modeled new delivery systems after the processes discovered in endocrinology – where glands deliver very small amounts of hormones but have a tremendous effect –.[http://www.thetech.org/exhibits/online/revolution/zaffaroni/ The Revolutionaries: Alejandro Zaffaroni] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513061558/http://www.thetech.org/exhibits/online/revolution/zaffaroni/ |date=2014-05-13 }}
ALZA's first controlled drug delivery product was used to treat glaucoma. Other products that incorporated 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.[http://www.alza.com/alza/products.html ALZA: Commercial Products]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
In 1980, Zaffaroni established DNAX, a developer of macromolecular products that combines the technologies of genetic engineering and immunobiology.[http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/05/16/smallb8.html Palo Alto to be home of expanded biopharma research effort]
In 1988 he co-founded Affymax, specializing in combinatorial chemistry to reduce the cost and time of identifying new medicines.
In 1991 he co-founded Affymetrix,{{cite web|title=Affymetrix CEO opens his wallet|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/05/10/affymetrix-ceo-opens-his-wallet/|website=mercurynews.com|date=11 May 2008 |access-date=2022-09-06}} specializing in using genetics for developing new medicine. He was also involved in the creation of Perlegen Sciences, an Affymetrix spin-off which works on finding genetic causes of disease.
In 1994, he founded Symyx Technologies, a company dedicated to utilizing combinatorial chemistry technologies.
Other companies he founded include Maxygen (1997), a developer of technologies that improve the development of proteins and genetic elements, and SurroMed, focusing on the development of technologies for surrogate disease markers. In 2000, he founded Alexza Pharmaceuticals, a company working on rapid onset of action drug delivery technologies.
He died at his home at Atherton, California, on March 1, 2014. He was 91.[http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/march/alejandro-zaffaroni-obit-030314.html Alejandro Zaffaroni, longtime friend of Stanford, deceased at 91]
Awards and honors
File:Alejandro Zaffaroni HD2004 Winthrop-Sears Medal.JPG
In 1979 Zaffaroni was awarded the Chemical Pioneer Award by the American Institute of Chemists{{cite web|url=http://www.theaic.org/award_winners/chem_pioneer.html#cpa60s|title=Chemical Pioneer Award|publisher=American Institute of Chemists|access-date=30 November 2015}} In 1995, he received the National Medal of Technology from President Bill Clinton for his contributions to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. In 2004, he was one of the recipients of the Winthrop-Sears Medal from the Chemical Heritage Foundation and The Chemists’ Club, with George Rosenkranz. In 2005 he received the Bower Award for Business Leadership from the Franklin Institute for his creation of new biochemical processes and drug delivery technologies. In 2005 he was awarded the Gregory Pincus Award from the Worcester Foundation. In 2006, he received the Biotechnology Heritage Award, from the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the Chemical Heritage Foundation.{{cite web|title=Biotechnology Heritage Award|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/biotechnology-heritage-award|website=Science History Institute|date=31 May 2016 |access-date=21 February 2018}}{{cite news|title=Alejandro Zaffaroni Receives 2006 Biotechnology Heritage Award|author=Gussman, Neil|url=http://www.bio.org/media/press-release/alejandro-zaffaroni-receives-2006-biotechnology-heritage-award|access-date=5 February 2014|newspaper=BIO|date=9 April 2006}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaffaroni, Alejandro}}
Category:National Medal of Technology recipients
Category:People from Montevideo
Category:Uruguayan businesspeople
Category:Uruguayan expatriates in Mexico
Category:Uruguayan expatriates in the United States
Category:Silicon Valley people
Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine
Category:University of Rochester alumni
Category:Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute) laureates