Inducted 1998

Dr. Alejandro Zaffaroni was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1923.
He studied medicine at the University of Montevideo, where he
earned his Bachelor of Science degree. In 1949, he received his
Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Rochester.

In 1951, Dr. Zaffaroni joined Syntex Corporation, then a small
chemical company in Mexico. He subsequently played a key role in
transforming Syntex into a major pharmaceutical company.
Eventually, he became president of Syntex Laboratories and Syntex
Research Institute.

Over the years, Dr. Zaffaroni has founded numerous companies. The
success of these companies attest to the clarity of his vision and the
practicality of his ideas for improving therapy. In all his activities, his
deepest personal satisfaction has come from finding new ways to
apply the findings of science to the treatment of disease and the
prevention of human suffering.

Resigning from Syntex in 1968, he established ALZA Corporation,
whose focus is drug delivery systems. ALZA is now the
acknowledged leader worldwide in this important field. Then in 1980,
Dr. Zaffaroni founded DNAX Ltd., a company that develops
macromolecular products for medicine. Another creative concept
became a reality in 1988 when Dr. Zaffaroni founded Affymax, a
company devoted to the discovery of new therapeutic drugs by
methods that drastically reduce the cost and time required to identify
promising compounds for treating important diseases. Then in 1991,
he founded Affymetrix, a company dedicated to developing and
commercializing technology to acquire, analyze and manage genetic
information rapidly and cost effectively. Symyx, a company started in
1994, focuses on the discovery of novel materials such as
superconductors, magnets, catalysts and polymers. Most recently, in
1996, Dr. Zaffaroni founded Maxygen.

Dr. Zaffaroni has repeatedly recognized the need for development of
a new technology, and then fostered a corporate environment to
make theory a reality. His "web" of companies continues to grow,
with each new member benefiting from the experience and expertise
accumulated by its predecessors.

Dr. Zaffaroni is married and has two children.