1998 Recipient:
Dr. Alejandro Zaffaroni

A biochemist, Dr. Zaffaroni served as director of Syntex Research and then its parent corporation, Syntex Laboratories, before leaving in 1969 to start Alza Cooperation. Alza is now a $2 billion corporation that has pioneered the development of a broad range of drug delivery technologies.

In 1981 he founded DNAX Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, which was acquired by Schering-Plough Corporation.

In 1988 he founded the Affymax Research Institute in Palo Alto, which is developing an applying new drug discovery technologies to improve the productivity of drug development and provide a continuous source of new drugs. Affymax was acquired by GlaxoWellcome in 1995 for $538 million. Affymax, a company Dr. Zaffaroni founded in 1993, employs 100 people and is dedicated to the application of combinatorial chemistry for genetic analysis, diagnosis and research.

In 1995, Dr. Zaffaroni was awarded the National Medal of Technology by President Clinton in recognition of his contributions to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Dr. Zaffaroni 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.

The award was inaugurated in 1998.
Honorees include:
2007 Recipient: L. John Doerr
2006 Recipient: F. Warren Hellman
2005 Recipient: C. Richard Kramlich
2004 Recipient: Sanford R. Robertson
2003 Recipient: Dr. Ralph Landau
2002 Recipient: Dr. Edward Penhoet
2001 Recipient: Mr. William Hambrecht
2000 Recipient: Dr. Gordon Moore
1999 Recipient: Mr. Arthur Rock
1998 Recipient: Dr. Alejandro Zaffaroni

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