NantWorks recently acquired a controlling stake in Integrity Healthcare, effectively taking over the management of six hospitals which will now go by the name of Verity Health.
Soon-Shiong is a noted philanthropist dedicated to improving the delivery of health care in the Los Angeles area.
The acquisition is a bold but calculated move which opens up more possibilities for NantWorks research, including genomic testing and cancer research. At the same time, there is an opportunity for the hospitals to expand their services and upgrade their equipment. The hospitals include St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles and St. Francis Medical Center located in Lynwood, among others.
It is expected that these hospitals will receive new equipment and upgrades worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, dubbed America’s richest doctor, has a controlling stake in NantWorks. He has been actively attempting to acquire Integrity Healthcare, as well as the 5 hospitals which were formerly owned by the Daughters of Charity Health System.
Soon-Shiong Expands Genomic Testing
Dr. Soon-Shiong is no stranger to St. Vincent Medical Center, having performed the first ever implant of an artificial pancreas in a human. A brilliant student, this South African born tycoon became a medical doctor at the age of 23.
Soon-Shiong is a self-made billionaire who founded APP Pharmaceuticals, a diabetes and cancer biotechnology research firm, in 1997. In 2007, with an 80% stake, he sold the company to Frasenius SE for $4.6 billion, becoming a multibillionaire in one fell swoop.
He then founded Abraxis BioScience, a pharmaceutical research company where he co-discovered Abraxene – a blockbuster drug that treats pancreatic cancer. He later sold that company for over $3 billion in a cash-and-stock deal.
Soon-Shiong is a noted philanthropist dedicated to improving the delivery of health care in the Los Angeles area. He was the principal in providing a $100 million guarantee for the reopening of the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital. Located in South Los Angeles, the hospital replaced the King/Drew Medical Center.
As an investor, he also has a sizable stake in Tronc, Inc., the parent company of the Los Angeles Times. He also has a minority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the hospital acquisitions, NantWorks and its subsidiaries including NantHealth will be able to expand their work on genomic testing. One of Soon-Shiong’s bold initiatives is to create a genome database of more than 100,000 cancer patients, which may hopefully lead to a cure for the dreaded disease.
