Duarte-based City of Hope has received a $150 million gift from the family of internet publishing entrepreneur Emmet Stephenson for research and therapy development for pancreatic cancer, the hospital announced Sept. 17.

It is the largest single gift in the cancer and diabetes research and treatment institution’s 111-year history. It is also equivalent to about two-thirds of the annual research budget for pancreatic cancer at the Bethesda, Maryland-based National Cancer Institute.

The gift is in honor of Stephenson’s late wife, Toni, a lymphoma survivor who ultimately died from pancreatic cancer in 2020.

Proceeds from the gift will be used to further City of Hope’s research into pancreatic cancer, to gain a better understanding of the disease and develop immunotherapy-based treatment approaches. It will also provide additional funds for the Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center, established with a $10 million donation from the Stephensons a decade ago.

Other initiatives being funded by the gift include:

• Establishment of the Stephenson Fellows Program, which will award grants to researchers and support their work on pancreatic cancer;
• An annual Stephenson Pancreatic Cancer Research Symposium that will be a forum for innovative ideas and promote scientific collaboration;
• A pancreatic biorepository at City of Hope that will enhance genomic patient care, aid in early disease detection, deepen understanding of cancer biology and immune response and contribute to developing therapies; and
• Establishment of the $1 million Stephenson Prize to be awarded annually to a leading scientist or team making the most promising advancements in pancreatic cancer research, treatment and cures.

“The Stephensons are entrepreneurs who believe in groundbreaking innovation and City of Hope is a pioneer driving transformational change in cancer care,” said Robert Stone, City of Hope’s chief executive.

Emmet Stephenson founded an internet publishing firm in the late 1990s. He then went on to found and become president of Stephenson and Co., a private investment firm, and senior partner of Stephenson Ventures, a private equity firm. Meanwhile, his daughter, Tessa Stephenson Brand, has also become an entrepreneur. Both made the decision to give the record gift to City of Hope.

“We want to ignite interest and encourage pancreatic cancer research worldwide,” Stephenson said. “We know that cancer discoveries require significant funding, which is why Tessa and I believe multiple elements of this gift will make a difference in fighting this terrible disease. This initiative is a purposeful investment to spur ingenuity and ensure that the most promising advances move forward as fast as possible.”

While the Stephenson family’s gift is the largest single donation, it’s not the largest total donation from an individual or family to City of Hope. That honor belongs to the late Arthur Riggs, a longtime diabetes researcher at the institution who led the research team that invented artificial insulin in the late 1970s. Over the course of his life, Riggs gifted at least $310 million to City of Hope.