Abraxis' billionaire chief is adding to his blockbuster bank account

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has been involved in his share of controversies over the years, but none of them have done anything to reduce his net worth. Already worth $4 billion following the sale of APP Pharmaceuticals, the son of Chinese refugees is getting a big bump from the $2.9 billion sale of Abraxis to Celgene. He owns 82 percent of the company, which is primarily devoted to selling the cancer drug Abraxane while working on new approvals for additional indications.

"He's done some things that have generated controversy," Michael G. King Jr., a biotechnology analyst at Wedbush Securities, tells the New York Times' Andrew Pollack. "But at the end of the day, (Abraxane) is a good product."

AstraZeneca, of course, took a shot and failed at making a big success of the cancer drug. But Celgene has had considerable success with Revlimid, and clearly feels that it can do a better job at selling the solid-tumor drug than Abraxis has managed on its own. Soon-Shiong, in the meantime, can add one more successful deal to a blockbuster resume.

- here's the story from the New York Times