A $150 million gift to City of Hope intends to change the future of tackling pancreatic cancer.

The major gift announced Tuesday, Sept. 17, from entrepreneur and philanthropist Emmet Stephenson Jr. and daughter Tessa Stephenson Brand aims to expedite research and treatment options to ultimately eradicate the disease that took Emmet Stephenson’s wife, Toni, four years ago.

“In January 2020, we were blindsided by her pancreatic cancer,” Stephenson Brand said. “It came out of nowhere, and she was soon admitted to City of Hope and had a very tough four months there where my dad lived at the hospital with her to oversee treatment and support her.

“Pancreatic cancer is so daunting, and we knew the chances were not good,” Stephenson Brand added. “And, unfortunately, in May of 2020, she passed away. My dad and I were heartbroken. My parents were kindergarten sweethearts. They were married for 53 years.”

Stephenson and his wife were both alumni of Louisiana State University and Harvard Business School. They built their wealth through a variety of entrepreneurial activities, including internet publishing, private investments and private equity.

The Stephensons have been renowned philanthropists for decades. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the couple made a large donation to start a new institute for disaster management at their alma mater, LSU. And, after his wife was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2013, the Stephensons, along with their daughter, made a $10 million donation to the Keck School of Medicine at USC to further pioneering cancer research.

Stephenson and his daughter have been philanthropic partners to City of Hope for more than a decade. It was during Toni Stephenson’s successful treatment for lymphoma at City of Hope that the Stephensons established a relationship with the cancer center that inspired them to first make a $1 million donation to support lymphoma research and then a $10 million donation to establish the Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center, which continues to advance lymphoma research and patient-centered care.

Now, in honor of Toni Stephenson, father-and-daughter are making City of Hope’s largest single philanthropic contribution for cancer care in the organization’s 111-year history.

City of Hope has received a historic $150 million gift from A. Emmet Stephenson Jr., founder and senior partner of private equity firm Stephenson Ventures, and Tessa Stephenson Brand, entrepreneur and philanthropist, to tackle pancreatic cancer. (Photo Credit: City of Hope)

“This family’s loss became an inspiration for hope, and we are honored they chose us as a partner to realize their vision,” said Kristin Bertell, chief philanthropy officer at City of Hope, which is headquartered in Duarte and is in the middle of an expansion into Orange County.

Pancreatic cancer is a pernicious disease. Fewer than one in five people live five years after diagnosis. Half die within 16 months. Of all cancers, it has the worst average five-year survival rate, and it is projected to become the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. by 2030, according to City of Hope.

“We want to try to find a solution as quickly as possible,” Stephenson said.

The gift creates what he calls a “multi-layered approach” to understanding and defeating the disease.

Its centerpiece is a $1 million award that will be given annually to a leading scientist or team making “the most promising advancements in pancreatic cancer research, treatment and cures” starting in 2025. The research team does not need to be affiliated with City of Hope and can be located anywhere in the world.

Additionally, the Stephensons’ gift will fund an annual research symposium, facilitate clinical trials for novel immunotherapies and start a pancreatic biorepository at City of Hope in Duarte that will help researchers enhance patient care, early disease detection and innovative treatments.

City of Hope Orange County Physician-in-Chief Ed Kim said the gift’s global impact will be felt locally as well, especially as City of Hope expands its cancer treatment services in Irvine.

“The people in Orange County are going to be direct beneficiaries of all of the science, the clinical trials and the diagnostics that are going to come out of this,” Kim said.

City of Hope opened the Lennar Foundation Cancer Center in Irvine in 2022, part of a $1 billion investment to build a comprehensive cancer center in Orange County. It also has several regional clinics in Orange County and, by the end of next year, it plans to open Orange County’s only specialty hospital exclusively focused on treating and curing cancer. The six-story, 164,000-square-foot hospital will have 73 beds.