USC is preparing to open a cancer research center in West Los Angeles next spring thanks to a $200 million gift from tech tycoon Larry Ellison, a founder of Oracle Corp.

The university announced July 19 it would locate its Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine at a new medical building under construction at 12414 Exposition Blvd., in Sawtelle.

It is expected to open in May 2019.

“When a patent sees scientists working on solutions for his disease – that hope is personified,” said Dr. David B. Agus, founding director and chief executive of the institute, said in a statement.

“Larry’s faith in our work is both humbling and inspiring,” Agus said. “With his support, we are creating a new paradigm for research.”

The Ellison Institute will occupy a 79,000-square-foot building near the Metro Bundy Station.

The center will be developed by the Luzzatto Co., a real estate and investment firm based in the Fairfax district. The three-story research center was designed by HLW International of New York. Rios Clementi Hale Studios in Leimert Park will design its landscape and interior.

The building is expected to cost $100 million and house a cancer clinic, interdisciplinary research laboratories, a think tank, and community education and wellness programs.

Ellison gave $200 million to USC in May of 2016 to build an institute in his name.

Ellison serves as chairman of the board and chief technology officer for the Oracle, the software company he co-founded in 1977.

Forbes ranks the Silicon Valley resident No. 10 among the world’s wealthiest indviduals, with a net worth estimated at $59.3 billion.