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In 1998 the Lester Center awarded Alejandro Zaffaroni its Lifetime Achievement Award in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He has been a leader in drug development and drug discovery technologies since obtaining his Ph.D. in 1949.
Born on February 27, 1923 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Alejandro Zaffaroni graduated from the University of Montevideo with a B.S. in 1943. He married Lyda Russomanno in 1946. They have two children, Alejandro and Elisa.
While at the University of Rochester, Zaffaroni developed solvent systems and procedures for separating and identifying steroids using paper chromatography. Following this important breakthrough, he accepted a position as a research scientist at Syntex Corporation. Within five years, he became vice-president and by 1962 was appointed president of Syntex’s U.S. subsidiary in Palo Alto, California.
In 1969 Alejandro Zaffaroni left Syntex to found Alza Corporation in order to develop new, innovative technologies for drug delivery. Alza continues to be a world leader in this area. In addition to Alza, Alejandro Zaffaroni has founded six other biotechnology companies, each focusing on specific aspects of drug development and delivery.
In addition to the Lester Center Lifetime Achievement Award in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Alejandro Zaffaroni has received other awards for his innovations in biotechnology. In 1995, President Clinton awarded him the National Medal of Technology, and in 1998 he was elected a fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science. He was a co-recipient of the 2004 Chemists’ Club Winthrop-Sears Award.
Alejandro Zaffaroni continues to forge ahead into to the development of new drug-delivery technologies. One of his companies, Alexza, is working to develop a safe device for drug delivery through inhalation. Perhaps this work will produce another groundbreaking drug delivery system.
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This short biographical "snapshot" provides basic information about the person's chemical work, gender, ethnicity, and cultural background. A list of references is given along with additional WWW sites to further your exploration into the life and work of this chemist.