Pablo Valenzuela (; born June 13, 1941) is a Chilean biochemist dedicated to biotechnology development. He is known for his genetic studies of hepatitis viruses; participated as R&D Director in the discovery of

hepatitis C virus The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small (55–65 nm in size), enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family '' Flaviviridae''. The hepatitis C virus is the cause of hepatitis C and some cancers such as liver cancer (hepatoc ...

and the invention of the world's first recombinant vaccine (against

hepatitis B virus ''Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) is a partially double-stranded DNA virus, a species of the genus '' Orthohepadnavirus'' and a member of the '' Hepadnaviridae'' family of viruses. This virus causes the disease hepatitis B. Disease Despite there b ...

). He is one of the cofounders of the biotechnology company

Chiron Corporation Chiron Corporation ( ) was an American multinational biotechnology firm founded in 1981, based in Emeryville, California, that was acquired by Novartis on April 20, 2006. It had offices and facilities in eighteen countries on five continents. ...

and of Fundacion Ciencia para la Vida, a private non profit institution where he is currently working.

Biography

Pablo Valenzuela studied biochemistry at Universidad de Chile and earned his Ph.D. degree (1970) in Chemistry at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, did a postdoctoral training at

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It con ...

and held a position as Professor in the Biochemistry Department of that institution. In 1981, together with William J. Rutter and Edward Penhoet founded the biotechnology company

that in 1997 was the second-largest biotechnology company in the world, after

Amgen Amgen Inc. (formerly Applied Molecular Genetics Inc.) is an American multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. One of the world's largest independent biotechnology companies, Amgen was established in T ...

. As Research Director Pablo Valenzuela developed a variety of biotechnological products, specially in the blood banking industry. The invention of the recombinant vaccine against Hepatitis B virus was chosen by Business Week as one of the three most innovative technological products of the year 1986. In Chile Pablo Valenzuela founded Bios Chile, the first biotechnology company in that country, and in 1997 together with Bernardita Mendez he cofounded Fundacion Ciencia Para la Vida a non profit foundation that carries out scientific and technological research. He is the father of Chilean American singer/songwriter,

Francisca Valenzuela Francisca Valenzuela (; born March 17, 1987 in San Francisco, California) is an American-born Chilean singer, poet, and multi-instrumentalist. Valenzuela was born and raised in San Francisco, California, where she resided until the age of 12, bef ...

Work

Pablo Valenzuela is the scientist responsible for the development of biotechnology products in USA and Chile in the area of international diagnostics, blood banking and pharmaceutical. He is cofounder and responsible of early activities of biotechnology Start-ups in USA and Chile. He is also Professor and Investigator in graduate programs, generating scientific publications and patents. Valenzuela was recipient of the Chilean National Prize for Applied Sciences and Technologies in 2002 and is a member of the Chilean Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the

UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It con ...

medal in 2014.

Science & technology developments in USA

* Cofounder of

. * Ten products in the area of international diagnostics and blood banking ( Hepatitis C, AIDS,

Hepatitis B Hepatitis B is an infectious disease caused by the '' Hepatitis B virus'' (HBV) that affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. It can cause both acute and chronic infection. Many people have no symptoms during an initial infection. ...

) that have been commercialized by

, Abbott and Johnson & Johnson. * Four products in the pharmaceutical area (

Hepatitis B vaccine Hepatitis B vaccine is a vaccine that prevents hepatitis B. The first dose is recommended within 24 hours of birth with either two or three more doses given after that. This includes those with poor immune function such as from HIV/AIDS and t ...

, human insulin, beta-interferon and a wound healing gel based on

PDGF Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is one among numerous growth factors that regulate cell growth and division. In particular, PDGF plays a significant role in blood vessel formation, the growth of blood vessels from already-existing blood v ...

) and one product for the food industry (bovine

rennin Chymosin or rennin is a protease found in rennet. It is an aspartic endopeptidase belonging to MEROPS A1 family. It is produced by newborn ruminant animals in the lining of the abomasum to curdle the milk they ingest, allowing a longer reside ...

), commercialized worldwide by Chr. Hansen.

Science & technology developments in Chile

* Co-Founder and President of Bios Chile and Austral Biologicals. * Co-Founder and Director of Fundación Ciencia para la Vida. * Co-Founder and President of Andes Biotechnologies (start-up 2009). * Biotechnology products, like vaccines for the salmon aquiculture, licensed to

Novartis Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...

. * Products for human health and blood banking ( Chagas,

H. pylori ''Helicobacter pylori'', previously known as ''Campylobacter pylori'', is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, spiral (helical) bacterium usually found in the stomach. Its helical shape (from which the genus name, helicobacter, derives) is thoug ...

rotavirus ''Rotavirus'' is a genus of double-stranded RNA viruses in the family ''Reoviridae''. Rotaviruses are the most common cause of diarrhoeal disease among infants and young children. Nearly every child in the world is infected with a rotavirus ...

, blood tests). * Responsible Director of the Millennium Institute for Fundamental and Applied Biology, one of 15 centers of excellence in Chile.Millennium Institute
/ref>

References

External links

Fundacion Ciencia para la VidaPablo Valenzuela's Short Talk: "Life Sciences in Chile" (also in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valenzuela, Pablo Dt 1941 births Living people Biochemists Chilean scientists University of California, San Francisco alumni