William J. Rutter, Ph.D.

William J. Rutter, PhD is Founder and Chairman and CEO of Synergenics, LLC, which controls a consortium of companies with different but complimentary approaches to diagnosis, prevention and treatment on a worldwide basis. Previously, Dr. Rutter was co-founder and chairman of Chiron Corporation, a major biotechnology company which is well known for the development of recombinant DNA-based vaccines, including Hepatitis B, and for the discovery of Hepatitis C, the first sequencing of the HIV-AIDS virus. Chiron pioneered the development of quantitative DNA-based diagnostic tests measuring viral load, which has played a major role in protecting the blood supply, and also in developing drugs for treatment of these diseases. Chiron was acquired in two stages by Novartis and its antecedent company Ciga-Geigy. Dr. Rutter has served on boards of Novartis and several Biotech companies, including Cytokinetics, Sangamo Biosciences, and Synergenics companies. Dr. Rutter is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Rutter has published 381 scientific articles and holds 26 patents and patent applications. Previously, Dr. Rutter served as Chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UCSF. His lab made key contributions to biotechnology and recombinant DNA technology, including cloning of the human insulin gene and the production in yeast of a virus-like particle for Hepatitis B, which was eventually used in the manufacture of a Hepatitis B vaccine.