Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center received a $710.5 million gift from the Bezos family, the largest gift to the Seattle-based organization in its history, the center announced Oct. 12.
Mike and Jacklyn Bezos, parents of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, committed the $710.5 million to Fred Hutch over the next decade. Fred Hutch, an independent organization, serves as UW Medicine's cancer program.
Fred Hutch leaders expect efforts to "dramatically accelerate the pace and breadth" of breakthroughs in cancer to take $3 billion in philanthropic support over the next 10 years, and believe this gift will inspire additional donor support.
The $710.5 million gift will further the following priorities:
- $300 million: Recruitment of about 36 new researchers
- $225 million: Construction of a 390,000-square-foot facility on Fred Hutch's Seattle campus to house the Stuart and Molly Sloan Precision Oncology Institute, which was announced in September 2022 with a gift of $78 million from the namesake donors
- $149.5 million: Expansion of clinical research capabilities across the institution, including more clinical trial offerings for patients and increased enrollment of individuals from diverse backgrounds
- $36 million: For the Immunotherapy Integrated Research Center at Fred Hutch to further immune-based strategies for treating cancer
"As long-time Fred Hutch supporters, we were encouraged to see the recent merger expand its capacity to aggressively investigate and treat cancer and infectious diseases," Mr. Bezos said in a news release from Fred Hutch shared with Becker's. "Science, particularly cancer and virus research, is at such a pivotal point right now. We hope our investment in the Hutch leads to answers for the most pressing medical questions. We also hope this inspires others to join us now in pursuing scientific and medical breakthroughs."