Background
Zaffaroni, Alejandro C. was born on February 27, 1923 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Arrived in the United States, 44. Son of Carlos and Luisa (Alfaro) Zaffaroni.
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Alejandro C. Zaffaroni
Edit Profilebiochemist medical research company executive
Alejandro C. Zaffaroni, American biochemist, biotechnology entrepreneur. Recipient Barren medal, Barren Foundation, Chicago, 1974, President's award, Weizmann Institute of Science, 1978, Chemical Pioneer award, American Institute Chemists, Inc., 1979, National Medal of Technology, 1995, Bower award for Business Leadership, Franklin Institute, 2005.
Education
Born in 1923 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Zaffaroni received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the Republic in 1945, and his Doctor of Philosophy in biochemistry from the University of Rochester in 1949.
Career
Products that he was involved in developing include the birth control pill, the nicotine patch, corticosteroids, and the deoxyribonucleic acid microarray. 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 United States. subsidiary in 1962.
In 1968, he founded ALZA, a portmanteau 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 –.
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. In 1980, Zaffaroni established DNAX, a developer of macromolecular products that combines the technologies of genetic engineering and immunobiology.
In 1988 he co-founded Affymax, specializing in combinatorial chemistry to reduce the cost and time of identifying new medicines.
In 1991 he founded Affymetrix, 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.
Achievements
Membership
Fellow: American Pharmaceutical Association, American Academy Arts and Sciences. Member: American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Engineering, Christian Legal Society (Missouri board directors since 1973), New York Academy of Sciences, International Society Research in Biology of Reproduction, Endocrine Society, Bio-chemical Society England, Sociedad Mexicana de Nutricion y Endocrinologia, Society Experimental Biology and Medicine, International Society Study of Biological Rhythms, International Society Chronobiology, International Pharmaceutical Federation, California Pharmacists Association, biomedical Engineering Society, American Society Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, American Society Microbiology, American Society Biological Chemists, Inc., American Institute Chemists, Inc., American Foundation Pharmaceutical Education, American Chemical Society, Tau Kappa Epsilon (international president 1953-1957).
Connections
Married Lyda Russomanno, July 5, 1946. Children— Alejandro A., Elisa.
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Born
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Died
March 1, 2014 (aged 91) -
Nationality
American
Education
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1943
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1949
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1983
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1987
Awards
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Recipient Barren medal, Barren Foundation, Chicago, 1974, President's award, Weizmann Institute of Science, 1978, Chemical Pioneer award, American Institute Chemists, Inc., 1979, National Medal of Technology, 1995, Bower award for Business Leadership, Franklin Institute, 2005.Recipient Barren medal, Barren Foundation, Chicago, 1974, President's award, Weizmann Institute of Science, 1978, Chemical Pioneer award, American Institute Chemists, Inc., 1979, National Medal of Technology, 1995, Bower award for Business Leadership, Franklin Institute, 2005.