Patrick Soon-Shiong

Patrick Soon-Shiong, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBCh), Master of Science (MSc), Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS (C)), Fellow, American College of Surgeons (FACS), and Executive Chairman, Global Chief Medical Officer of ImmunityBio, Inc.

Dr. Soon-Shiong has spent the past 30 years of his career pursuing treatments to find the cure for cancer, understanding the fundamental biology behind life-threatening diseases, and translating these insights into medical innovations with global impact.

Throughout Dr. Soon-Shiong's career, he has pioneered therapies for diabetes and cancer, published over 100 scientific papers, and has been granted over 675 patents worldwide for groundbreaking advancements spanning myriad fields of medicine, technology, and artificial intelligence. As an Assistant Professor at UCLA in 1993, Dr. Soon-Shiong performed UCLA’s first whole-organ pancreas transplant and the world's first encapsulated islet cell transplant in Type 1 diabetic patients. In the early 1990s, he pursued the science of stem cells and nanotechnology at NASA, performing experiments as part of the NASA space shuttle program. While at UCLA, he was responsible for overseeing the California Nanosystems Institute (CNSI). In 2011, Dr. Soon-Shiong acquired the National LambdaRail (NLR) to integrate supercomputing data centers and develop augmented intelligence for genomic sequencing. Dr. Soon-Shiong has since evolved this Layer 1 network as MOX Networks in 2013.

Dr. Soon-Shiong invented Abraxane, a groundbreaking drug, in 1995. It was the first human protein (albumin) nanoparticle created to activate a specific receptor on the blood vessels that supply the tumor. The drug was designed to transform the tumor's microenvironment and activate the immune system. Abraxane was approved by the FDA in 2005 for metastatic breast cancer, in 2012 for lung cancer, and in 2013 for pancreatic cancer. It was the first drug in more than two decades that demonstrated a significant improvement in survival for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Abraxane is currently approved in multiple countries, with annual sales of approximately $1.0 billion. In 2017, Abraxane on placed on exhibit at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

From 1997 to 2010, Dr. Soon-Shiong served as founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of two public pharmaceutical companies, American Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: APPX) and Abraxis BioScience, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABII). Under Dr. Soon-Shiong's guidance, APPX was responsible for the safe supply of Heparin during the 2008 Heparin crisis in the United States.

In 2011, Dr. Soon-Shiong founded NantWorks, LLC, a group of companies with the goal of creating a transformative global health information and next-generation pharmaceutical development network for the secure sharing of genetic and medical information, addressing climate change and transforming digital communication. Dr. Soon-Shiong serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NantWorks, LLC.

Dr. Soon-Shiong was the recipient of the prestigious 2016 Franklin Institute Bower Award. The award was given in recognition of his visionary leadership in digital medical technology, his commitment to improving healthcare quality and accessibility through the initiatives of the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation, and his leadership in transforming cancer care through immunotherapy.

In 2018, Dr. Soon-Shiong acquired the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune. Dr. Soon-Shiong was appointed to the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee, established by the 21st Century Cures Act responsible for advising the President and his administration on health IT policy. Dr. Soon-Shiong previously served as the co-chair of the CEO Council for Health and Innovation at the Bipartisan Policy Center and as a member of the Global Advisory Board of Bank of America.

He is a visiting Professor at the Imperial College of London. The Friends of the National Library of Medicine have honored him with their Distinguished Medical Science Award, and he is Chairman of the board at the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular Medicine at Windber. In 2023, he was appointed special healthcare advisor to President Masisi of Botswana. Additionally, Dr. Soon-Shiong is a minority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers.