Arthur Greene
South African-born billionaire Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong has committed R3 billion towards the production of Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa.
“I have had the great fortune of coming from South Africa to America and building large companies with large production facilities,” he told the World Health Organisation at a meeting on Wednesday.
Dr Soon-Shiong is a US-based bioscientist. He’s also a businessman, transplant surgeon and media mogul, who owns several companies – ranging from health startups to newspapers.
But before building a pharmaceutical empire in the US, where he amassed a colossal personal wealth of $6,8 billion (R135b), he came from humble beginnings in Gqeberha.
The child of Chinese immigrants, he studied medicine at the University of Witwatersrand. He then completed his medical internship at Johannesburg General Hospital, before moving to Canada in the 1970s.
At Wednesday’s meeting, he announced that his company woud “transfer technology” to allow production of vaccines in South Africa.
He said that South African researchers have pioneered genomic analysis of Covid-19 and helped the world recognise the danger posed by variants.
“I became more and more convinced that not only do we have the science, but we have the human capital and the capacity and the desire,” he said.
He explained that a boost to South Africa’s vaccine production and innovation would move the entire continent towards self-sufficiency.
In March, Dr Soon-Shiong’s company, ImmunityBio, signed a deal with BioVac, a South African company, to produce 100 million vaccines every year.
Picture source: @DrPatSoonShiong
