PRINTER'S NO. 3378
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
895
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY DeLUCA, COHEN, KINSEY, D. COSTA, HENNESSEY,
KIRKLAND, KOTIK, CALTAGIRONE, DiGIROLAMO, V. BROWN, MILLARD,
DAVIS, WATSON, ROZZI, WHEELAND, READSHAW, SCHLOSSBERG, ROSS,
NEILSON, MAHONEY, GILLEN, MILNE, PAYNE, SAINATO, PASHINSKI,
TOOHIL, BARBIN, SAYLOR, J. HARRIS AND DONATUCCI, MAY 18, 2016
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MAY 18, 2016
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing Sean Parker and the Parker Institute for Cancer
Immunotherapy for their innovative efforts in the fight
against cancer.
WHEREAS, The Parker Foundation is providing a $250 million
grant to launch the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, a
collaboration among many of the country's best scientists,
clinicians and industry partners to lead an unprecedented cancer
immunotherapy research effort; and
WHEREAS, The Parker Foundation is a private foundation
established in 2015 through a $600 million gift from Sean
Parker; and
WHEREAS, Sean Parker is a philanthropist and entrepreneur
with a record of launching genre-defining companies such as
Napster and Plaxo; and
WHEREAS, The Parker Institute's goal is to accelerate the
development of breakthrough immunotherapies capable of turning
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cancer into a curable disease by ensuring the coordination and
collaboration of the field's top researchers and quickly
translating their findings into patient treatments; and
WHEREAS, The Parker Institute includes more than 40
laboratories and 300 researchers from across the country,
including one at the University of Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Each Parker Institute research center receives
comprehensive funding and access to dedicated research, clinical
resources and the key technologies needed to accelerate research
discoveries in cancer immunotherapy; and
WHEREAS, In a unique agreement among the centers,
intellectual property is being shared, enabling all researchers
to have immediate access to a broad swath of core discoveries;
and
WHEREAS, The development of cancer-targeting T-cell
therapies, pioneered by Carl June, M.D., of the University of
Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, has led to impressive
results in several blood cancers in children and adults; and
WHEREAS, The Parker Institute's scientific advisors and site
leaders have crafted a scientific road map which allows Parker
Institute scientists to further major cross-cutting
collaborative research projects as well as fund individual
research projects at Parker Institute centers; and
WHEREAS, Because of the large number of patients in its
network, the Parker Institute can take discoveries from bench to
clinical trials to bedside more quickly than siloed research
models; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth strongly supports this initiative
and urges continued investment in cancer research within this
Commonwealth; therefore be it
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize Sean
Parker and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy for
their innovative efforts in the fight against cancer.
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