Soon-Shiong Acquires Wireless Health Firm

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Vitality Inc., which has developed a smart pill bottle capable of calling patients to remind them take their medicine, said on Wednesday that it has been acquired by Los Angeles biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.

Vitality makes a pill bottle called GlowCap that illuminates, plays a melody and can even use wireless communications to ring patients. The product also automatically refills prescriptions, and sends weekly reports to doctors and designated family members if necessary. AT&T so far is the company’s only wireless partner.

The private Cambridge, Mass. company did not disclose financial terms.

Soon-Shiong, who made an estimated $7 billion fortune building and selling off drug companies, now focuses on health-oriented philanthropy and business ventures supporting genetic drug research and e-medicine. A Boston Globe story said Soon-Shiong, who tops the Business Journal’s annual Wealthiest Angelenos list, negotiated the deal with Vitality’s co-founders courtside at Staples Center while they watched the L.A. Lakers, a team he partly owns.

“Many people do not take their medications as prescribed which leads to unnecessary sickness and costly hospitalizations,” said Soon-Shiong in a statement. “GlowCaps addresses this problem brilliantly by making the medication packaging smart.”

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