Bloomberg, others donate $125M for new cancer institute

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others have donated $125 million to create a cancer-fighting institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the school said Tuesday.

The institute will focus on research in immunotherapy, which seeks to use patients' immune systems to destroy cancer cells, according to a school statement.

Vice President Joe Biden is among those expected to attend a formal announcement of the institute Tuesday.

Bloomberg, a Johns Hopkins graduate, and Sidney Kimmel, founder of Jones Apparel Group, each donated $50 million. More than a dozen additional supporters contributed another $25 million.

The donations will be used primarily to fund research, with a focus on melanoma, colon, pancreatic, urologic, lung, breast and ovarian cancers, the school said. The funds also will allow for the school to recruit more scientists and invest in the development of technology, such as finding new ways to view the immune response inside tumors, the school said.

"Ending all cancer would rank among humanity's greatest achievements, and immunotherapy is bringing that dream within reach," Bloomberg said in a statement.

President Obama announced last month that Biden would lead the "moonshot" federal task force looking for ways to streamline government's role toward finding the cure. Biden's son, Beau, died from brain cancer last May.

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