Curebound donates more than $476,000 for cancer immunotherapy clinical trial

La Jolla-based nonprofit Curebound made a $476,450 donation to UC San Diego and La Jolla Institute for Immunology to fund a cancer immunotherapy clinical trial that the university and the institute started in partnership with the Immunotherapy Foundation.

The donation is intended to pay for the trial’s completion, bringing insight into cancer immuno-oncology. Specifically, the trial focuses on the active phase I tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte and studies a form of personalized cancer immunotherapy that has been in development for decades, but has only recently been able to produce individualized treatments because of advances in technology, according to Curebound.

Curebound, a nonprofit that raises money for collaborative cancer research to accelerate the process of bringing new discoveries to clinical application, was formed last year as part of a larger effort between Padres Pedal the Cause and the Immunotherapy Foundation.

Its formation was announced in late November at a Scientific Advisory Board meeting in La Jolla, which drew experts from area cancer research institutions along with leaders in life science, venture capital and biotech industries.

The nonprofit is set on raising and investing $100 million for collaborative cancer research in San Diego over the next decade.

Curebound is building on the foundation laid by Padres Pedal the Cause and Immunotherapy Foundation, and together the nonprofits have raised over $20 million to fund more than 73 collaborative research grants and have initiated exploration of 21 different types of cancer over the past eight years.

Curebound is partnering with San Diego research institutions, including Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, Rady Children’s Hospital, Salk Institute, Sanford Burnham Prebys, La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Scripps Research to fund collaborative research.

“We are excited to embark on this next chapter to raise and invest $100 million into innovative cancer research,” said Fernanda Whitworth, co-founder of Curebound.

Curebound announced the return of Padres Pedal the Cause to Petco Park on April 9, where community members can support cancer research by cycling, running, walking, spinning or volunteering at the fundraising event. Registration is open; visit curebound.org/padrespedal.