Robert Duggan (venture capitalist)

Robert W. Duggan (born 1944) is an American billionaire entrepreneur and investor. He is the former CEO of biopharmaceutical company Pharmacyclics[2] and was previously CEO of surgical systems maker Computer Motion from 1997 to 2003.[3]

Robert Duggan
Born
Robert W. Duggan

1944/1945 (age 75–76)[1]
NationalityAmerican
EducationUniversity of California, Santa Barbara (dropped out)
University of California, Los Angeles (dropped out)
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forWorld's richest Scientologist
Net worthUS$2.1 billion (May 2020)[1]
TitleFormer CEO of Pharmacyclics
Spouse(s)Patricia "Trish" Duggan
Children8

Early life

Robert Duggan was born in San Jose, California, in 1944; the third of five children.[4] Duggan attended, but did not graduate from, the University of California, Santa Barbara and University of California, Los Angeles.[5][1]

Career

Sunset Designs

Duggan's first company, Sunset Designs, supplied Jiffy Stitchery kits to consumers - helping them create their own high-quality stitched projects at home[6]. He invested $100k in Sunset Designs and earned a $15m return on that investment.[7] More than 7,000 retail locations sold Jiffy Stitchery kits, giving the company an 80% market share.[8]

Computer Motion (Intuitive Surgical)

Computer Motion (now Intuitive Surgical) develops surgical robotics aimed at improving patients' experiences by reducing the degree of invasion during surgery.[9] The company worked to accomplish "patient and physician-friendly" robotic surgery - a term coined by Bob Duggan who led the company as Chairman from 1990 to 2003.[10]

Pharmacyclics

Pharmacyclics is a pharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of cancer therapies[11]. From 2008 to 2015, Duggan was the largest investor in as well as chairman and CEO of Pharmacyclics.[12] Duggan received $3.5 billion from the sale of Pharmacyclics to AbbVie in "one of the biggest paydays ever from the buyout of a publicly held company."[13][14][15] As CEO and chairman of Pharmacyclics from 2008 to 2015, Duggan had opted not to receive compensation from the company.[16]

Pulse Biosciences

Since November 2017, Duggan has been chairman of Pulse Biosciences.[17] As of February 2017, he owned a 15.4% stake in the company.[18]

Summit Therapeutics

After having been a director since December 2019, in spring 2020 Duggan was appointed as CEO of Summit Therapeutics (a clinical-stage drug development company focused on new mechanism antibiotics).[19] He is the company's leading shareholder and will serve as CEO without compensation.[20] Summit is focused on developing ridinilazole, which is a potential new treatment for C. difficile.[21]

Personal life

Duggan is married, with eight children, and lives in Clearwater, Florida.[1] He met his future wife, Patricia J. "Trish" Hagerty, when both were students at UCSB.[22]

Duggan and his wife are members of the Church of Scientology. Duggan has been referred to as the church's "largest financial supporter" by former Scientology executive Mark Rathbun.[23]

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References
  1. "Forbes profile: Robert Duggan". Forbes. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  2. Sean Williams (27 February 2013). "This Is One Incredible CEO". fool.com.
  3. "The $3.55 billion Man". America's Markets.
  4. Cassell, Warren (3 Feb 2020). "How Robert Duggan Became a Billionaire". Investopedia. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. George Thurlow (Summer 2015). "Everybody's a Genius". UC Santa Barbara Alumni Association.
  6. "First Venture". Robert Duggan. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  7. Varney, Amy (5 April 2019). "Bob Duggan". Oxstem. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  8. "Robert Duggan". Robert Duggan. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  9. "DaVinci by Intuitive". Intuitive. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  10. "Bob Duggan". Robert Duggan. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  11. "Pharmacyclics Stock Price, Forecast and News". Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  12. "Board of Directors - Pulse Biosciences". Pulse Biosciences. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  13. Warren Cassell Jr. (28 December 2015). "How Robert Duggan Became a Billionaire". Investopedia. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  14. Antoine Gara. "Robert Duggan". Forbes.
  15. "The Hiring Guru: Robert Duggan Billionaire". The Huffington Post.
  16. Gary Strauss (March 24, 2015). "The $3.55 billion Man". USA Today. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  17. "Board of Directors - Pulse Biosciences". Pulse Biosciences. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  18. "BRIEF-Robert Duggan reports 15.4 pct stake in Pulse Biosciences". Reuters. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  19. "Summit Appoints Robert W Duggan as Chief Executive Officer". Globe News Wire. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  20. "Summit Appoints Robert W Duggan as Chief Executive Officer". Global News Wire. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  21. "Summit Therapeutics gets US$50mln backing from biotech billionaire Bob Duggan". Proactive Investors. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  22. "A perplexing tale about Bob Duggan, the richest Scientologist in the world « The Underground Bunker". tonyortega.org. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  23. Brendan Coffey (January 29, 2013). "Robert Duggan Scientology's biggest donor". SFGate.
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