Patrick Soon-Shiong is a South African-born American businessman, physician, surgeon, scientist, inventor, and healthcare entrepreneur. His career has connected medicine, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, and healthcare technology. He is also known for developing the cancer drug Abraxane, founding healthcare-focused companies, and becoming the owner and executive chairman of the Los Angeles Times.
His professional journey is notable because it began with medicine in South Africa and later expanded into research, drug development, entrepreneurship, technology, and media.
Who Is Patrick Soon-Shiong?
Patrick Soon-Shiong was born in 1952 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, to parents of Chinese heritage. His father practiced traditional medicine, and Soon-Shiong grew up in an environment where healthcare and helping people were familiar parts of daily life. He later studied medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and graduated in 1975 at the age of 23.
His early medical career took place during apartheid in South Africa. According to biographical accounts, he received permission to complete an internship at Johannesburg General Hospital, where he became one of the first Chinese doctors allowed to train there. He also worked with patients during the Soweto uprising and later continued his surgical training in North America.
From South Africa to the United States
After his early medical training, Soon-Shiong moved to North America and continued his surgical education at the University of British Columbia and later at UCLA.
At UCLA, he joined the medical school faculty and became involved in gastrointestinal surgery and transplantation. In 1985, he performed the first pancreas transplant on the West Coast, according to the Los Angeles Times.
This period was important because it established Soon-Shiong not only as a practicing surgeon but also as a medical researcher interested in finding new ways to treat serious diseases.
Moving From Medicine Into Biotechnology
In the early 1990s, Soon-Shiong began moving from clinical medicine toward biotechnology and drug development.
He became involved in research related to diabetes and later cancer. His work eventually led to the development of Abraxane, a drug based on the cancer medicine paclitaxel. Abraxane used a protein-bound nanoparticle approach and was later approved for certain cancer treatments.
The development of Abraxane became one of the most important milestones in Soon-Shiong’s business career. His company Abraxis BioScience was later acquired by Celgene in a multibillion-dollar transaction.
Building Pharmaceutical Businesses
Soon-Shiong’s business career was not limited to one medicine.
He also built American Pharmaceutical Partners, a company focused on injectable medicines. The company was eventually sold to Germany’s Fresenius in 2008 in a multibillion-dollar transaction.
These deals helped establish his reputation as a physician who could also operate large businesses and commercialize medical research.
His career illustrates a path that is relatively unusual: moving from surgeon, to researcher, to pharmaceutical entrepreneur, and then to technology and media ownership.
NantWorks and Healthcare Technology
In 2011, Soon-Shiong founded NantWorks, a group of companies focused on technology, healthcare, data, and related fields. His broader vision has included combining biological information, computing, artificial intelligence, and medical research.
His healthcare interests have also included NantHealth and ImmunityBio.
ImmunityBio describes Soon-Shiong as its founder and executive chairman. The company focuses on developing immunotherapies and other medical approaches designed to address serious diseases.
This stage of his career shows how his interests expanded beyond traditional pharmaceutical development toward data-driven healthcare and biotechnology.
His Connection to the Los Angeles Times
Soon-Shiong’s business activities eventually expanded beyond healthcare.
In 2018, he became the owner and executive chairman of the Los Angeles Times. His ownership brought a physician and technology entrepreneur into one of America’s best-known newspaper organizations.
His interest in journalism was partly connected to his experience with healthcare issues in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times reported that coverage of problems at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital influenced his interest in improving healthcare access in the region.
Healthcare and Philanthropy
Healthcare remains an important part of Soon-Shiong’s professional and philanthropic activities.
He and his wife, Michele Chan, operate the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation. His activities have included support for healthcare institutions and efforts connected to medical research and healthcare access.
He has also expressed interest in strengthening healthcare and biotechnology in South Africa. In 2021, the Los Angeles Times reported on plans connected to a proposed vaccine and biotechnology facility in South Africa.
Why Patrick Soon-Shiong’s Career Is Notable
Patrick Soon-Shiong’s career crosses several industries.
He began as a doctor and surgeon, moved into medical research, developed pharmaceutical products, built biotechnology businesses, invested in healthcare technology, and later entered the media industry.
His story also demonstrates how medical knowledge can become a foundation for entrepreneurship. Instead of remaining exclusively in clinical medicine, he used his scientific background to explore drug development, biotechnology, data, and technology.
Today, his professional identity includes medicine, biotechnology, entrepreneurship, technology, philanthropy, and media ownership. His career therefore provides an example of how a medical professional can build a diverse business career around healthcare innovation.
Key Facts About Patrick Soon-Shiong
- Born: 1952, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Profession: Physician, surgeon, scientist, inventor and businessman
- Medical education: University of the Witwatersrand
- Known for: Abraxane and healthcare entrepreneurship
- Major company: NantWorks
- Healthcare involvement: NantHealth and ImmunityBio
- Media ownership: Los Angeles Times
- Philanthropy: Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation
- Major fields: Healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, technology and media
Conclusion
Patrick Soon-Shiong’s career developed from a strong foundation in medicine into a much broader business and technology journey. His experiences in South Africa, medical training in North America, work in transplantation, drug development, biotechnology entrepreneurship, and later involvement in technology and media all shaped his professional path.
His story is particularly connected to healthcare because many of his major business activities have focused on developing medicines, improving medical research, using technology in healthcare, and supporting medical institutions. From his early days as a young doctor in South Africa to his later role as a healthcare entrepreneur and media owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong has built a career that spans medicine, science, business and technology.
