Philanthropists Susan and Steve Kelly, longtime supporters of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, are helping to establish the Susan S. and Stephen P. Kelly Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

“We are honored our gift will help CHOP and Dr. Stephan Grupp to unlock the tremendous potential of cancer immunotherapies,” said Steve and Susan Kelly. “We hope that our gift helps children around the world overcome the toughest forms of cancer and reclaim their lives, so that their future is defined by their dreams and not by a cancer diagnosis.”

Steve Kelly is the co-founder and CEO of ELAP Services, a health insurance agency based in Chesterbrook.

The center will focus on “increasing equity and access to cell therapy clinical trials for socioeconomically disadvantaged patients and expanding pediatric clinical trials and accelerate the (FDA) approval of novel treatments,” among many other new innovations.

“The Kellys’ unwavering commitment to CHOP and the Cancer Center will allow us to forge ahead and identify new therapies for sick children sooner, bringing us one step closer to our ultimate goal: prescribing every child diagnosed with cancer a targeted therapy based on their genetic makeup, their cancer’s makeup, and the makeup of their own immune system,” said Dr. Grupp, Chief of the Cellular Therapy and Transplant Section in the Division of Oncology at CHOP.

Read more about the gift in the Philadelphia Business Journal.