William J. Rutter

Chairman and founder

Bill Rutter is Chairman and founder of Synergenics, LLC. Prior to his time at Synergenics, Bill played a key role in developing UCSF into a major scientific institution, joining UCSF as head of its new department of Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1968. In 1981, Bill and two colleagues founded Chiron Corporation, a pioneering biotech firm that would, among  other achievements, develop the first recombinant vaccine (for Hepatitis B), the first sequencing of the HIV genome in 1984, and the discovery, cloning, and sequencing of the Hepatitis C virus (1987).

Bill has published more than 380 scientific articles and holds over 25 patents. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has received numerous awards for his contributions to science and the biotechnology industry.

Sebastian Bernales

Chief Executive Officer

Sebastián Bernales, PhD is the Chief Executive Officer and a Board Member of Synergenics. With a distinguished career in biotechnology, he has been instrumental in advancing scientific research and fostering innovation across multiple ventures.
Dr. Bernales earned his PhD in Cell Biology from the University of California, San Francisco, where he studied under Dr. Peter Walter, focusing on cellular stress responses and autophagy. He began his industry career at Medivation Inc., contributing to the development of XTANDI (enzalutamide), a prostate cancer therapy that led to the company’s acquisition by Pfizer for approximately $14 billion.

As a serial entrepreneur and investor, Dr. Bernales has co-founded multiple companies, including Praxis Biotech, Momentum Tx., and Metagenomi (Nasdaq: MGX), playing a pivotal role in translating scientific discoveries into therapeutic applications. He serves as a General Partner at Humboldt Fund and a Venture Partner at Droia Genetic Diseases Fund, supporting early-stage biotech ventures. He also holds board positions at several organizations, including PhageLab, viTToria Biotherapeutics Inc., Momentum Tx., Vedra Tx., and Botanical Solution Inc. His commitment to scientific outreach and education is reflected in his long-standing involvement with the nonprofit organizations Fundación Ciencia & Vida, Fundación EcoScience, and Merken Biotech.

In recognition of his contributions to innovation and entrepreneurship, Dr. Bernales received the Avonni National Innovation Award for Innovative Trajectory in 2020 (Santiago, Chile), and was honored as the UCSF Graduate Division Alumni Association Alum of the Year in 2024 (California, USA).

Francisco Dopazo

Chief Investment Officer

Francisco Dopazo is Chief Investment Officer at Synergenics and an investment professional with expertise in strategy, structuring, and portfolio management across the biotech, pharma, real estate, and consumer sectors. He holds an MBA from MIT, an MS in Applied Analytics from Columbia University, and a BS in Production Engineering from Universidad Metropolitana. Francisco is also a GP at Humboldt Fund, where he represents the fund on the boards of several companies in the biotech and consumer industries, providing strategic oversight and operational guidance. He was previously a Senior Director at Tishman Speyer, where he led over $4 billion in transactions for institutional clients. Before that, he served as Vice President at JPMorgan, managing approximately $2 billion in multi-asset portfolios. He began his career in strategy consulting at Latmedical.