Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, FRCS (C), FACS
Dr. Soon-Shiong is the 2016 recipient of the Pontifical Key Visionary Award. Dr. Soon-Shiong has changed the course of human history and reduced suffering on a global scale. One of his most wellknown therapies, Abraxane®, stands as the first FDAapproved nanotechnology-based chemotherapeutic agent and offers real hope for patients suffering from advanced lung, breast and pancreatic cancers.
Dr. Soon-Shiong is unique among all medical innovators of our day; his work blends visionary thinking with real action. He has developed an entire ecosystem of health care and technology companies (NantWorks), creating a transformative global health information and next generation pharmaceutical development network for the secure sharing of genetic and medical information. He has a burning passion to cure cancer and is developing cancer therapies based on unlocking the genetic code of cancers to allow the body’s own immune system to destroy cancer cells.
A Chinese-American reared in apartheid South Africa, Dr. Soon-Shiong’s efforts to enhance health care transcend borders and boundaries. Throughout his career, Dr. Soon-Shiong has been an ardent supporter of ethical and adult stem cell research.
Dr. Soon-Shiong’s philanthropy is also notable. He was one of the first Americans to sign the Giving Pledge, founded by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, an effort to help address society’s most pressing problems by inviting the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit in giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes.