The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research and (BKI) have announced commitments totaling $10 million to Johns Hopkins University to fund novel work and advance cancer immunotherapy research.

Studies from the Mark Foundation Center and BKI have demonstrated that immunotherapy administered before surgery can significantly reduce the size of tumors and, in some cases, eliminate or reduce relapses from undetected metastases. The commitments of $6 million from the Mark Foundation and $4 million from BKI will enable scientific teams to continue using innovative technologies to determine why certain patients do not respond to immunotherapies.

“Our collaboration with the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute allows us to develop the next-generation genomics and imaging platforms for cancer immunotherapy necessary to save lives,” said Mark Foundation CEO Ryan Schoenfeld. “We believe that over the next five years, the number of cancer patients who will benefit will burgeon.”

“Cancer treatment is advancing every day, and immunotherapy is a big reason for that,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and founding donor of the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. “By teaming up with The Mark Foundation, this new investment will build on the cutting-edge work that Johns Hopkins and its partners are leading—saving lives and bringing us closer to bigger breakthroughs.”

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