University Of Colorado To Invest $200 Million In New Regenerative Medicine Institute

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has announced that it will make a $200 million investment over the next five years to create the Gates Institute, a research and treatment center that will focus on the development of new regenerative, cellular and gene therapies for a variety of serious illnesses.

The new funding will consist of $20 million per year for five years invested by both the Anschutz campus itself and the Gates Frontiers Fund, a private family foundation established in 1946 that focuses its philanthropy on the fields of education, natural resources, and community development in Colorado.

The new institute will expand on the exisitng Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Gates Biomanufacturing Facility, which have been leading centers for stem cell research and regenerative therapies for cancer and other diseases.

Regenerative medicine refers to a variety of treatments that attempt to take advantage of the body’s ability to heal itself. According to the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, it includes gene therapies, cell therapies, and tissue-engineered products that can augment, repair, replace, or regenerate organs, tissues, cells, genes, and metabolic processes in the body.

The Gates Frontiers Fund, represented by co-trustees Diane Gates Wallach and John Gates, made donations that helped create both the original Gates center and the new institute.

“It takes a dynamic, innovative medical ecosystem for an institute like this to thrive and be successful,” said Diane Gates Wallach in the university’s announcement. “And that’s what makes CU Anschutz so unique. Its outstanding educational facilities and world-class researchers share a campus with two top-ranked hospitals.”

Wallach added, “We share CU Anschutz’s vision to simultaneously fuel medical innovation while reducing the time required to get those innovations where they are needed most – to the patient. Our father believed that to move the needle, it’s important to invest in places that aren’t constrained by convention and are led and staffed by those driven to enhance the quality of life for those in our community and beyond.”

Much of the $200 million will be used to add faculty, researchers and support staff to the new institute. It’s anticipated that additional funding will come from both federal research grants and private biotechnology businesses that will develop the institute’s research discoveries into new therapies and products.

According to the university, the institute will also be involved in manufacturing, delivery and implementation of new therapies, as well as providing the regulatory infrastructure and investments necessary for commercializing novel therapies for patients.

“The Gates Institute will make it possible for our faculty to achieve the vast potential of cell and gene therapies,” said John J. Reilly Jr., MD, dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and vice chancellor for health affairs at CU Anschutz. “With previous support, we have recruited talented faculty and staff, and we have invested in state-of-the-art equipment. With this investment, we will build on that foundation so our scientists can develop a new generation of therapies that allow our clinicians to offer hope to those facing serious disease.”

The inaugural director of the Gates Institute will be Dr. Terry Fry, a pediatric oncologist and a pioneer in the development of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies, which involve reprogramming a patient’s T-cells to detect and then kill cancer cells.

“I’m looking forward to advancing the important work started at the Gates Center as we evolve into an institute focused on regenerative, cell and gene therapies. This is an incredible opportunity to help patients facing serious health issues and will change the face of medicine as we know it,” said Fry.

About the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

The UC Anschutz Medical Campus is located in Aurora, Colorado, a site that was developed with the help of more than $90 million in donations from the Anschutz Foundation. It’s the largest academic health center in the Rocky Mountain region and includes hospitals, the University of Colorado’s health science schools and colleges, and more than 40 degree programs serving some 4,500 students. The chancellor of the campus is Donald M. Elliman, Jr.