Chief Executive & Chairman, Puma Biotechnology Inc.

Auerbach established Puma Biotechnology in 2010 with a focus on developing cancer treatment pharmaceuticals for commercial use. He previously founded and ran Cougar Biotechnology Inc., which he sold in 2009 to Johnson & Johnson for about $1 billion. Puma’s main drug, Nerlynx, won FDA approval in 2017 to treat certain types of breast cancers. But patients taking the drug reported adverse symptoms, forcing Puma to develop a strict regimen for administering the drug. With those difficulties behind it, Puma signed deals to market the drug in China and other Asian countries. Last fall, Puma won a five-year extension on its patent for Nerlynx.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 7