LOS ANGELES, September 14, 2009 — Continuing its longstanding support of City of Hope, the law firm of Irell & Manella LLP has given $3 million to establish the Irell & Manella Cancer Center Director’s Distinguished Chair. Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president and chief executive officer of City of Hope, was appointed as the director of City of Hope’s Comprehensive Cancer Center and will be the first holder of the chair. Funds from this endowment will support cancer center programs.
A former acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and associate director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health, Friedman will oversee the growth of the cancer center’s range of laboratory and clinical research and education programs, including recruitment and expanded research opportunities.
“I am honored to hold this distinguished chair made possible by the continuing generosity of the Irell & Manella firm,” said Friedman. “City of Hope is on a mission to cure cancer through the collaboration of scientific research and clinical treatment to rapidly and efficiently develop medical breakthroughs to provide better therapies for patients. Our supporters at Irell & Manella have been investing in this vision and their invaluable support has helped us in making a difference in advancing our research and educational missions.”
In addition to endowing the Cancer Center Director's Distinguished Chair, Irell & Manella LLP has made other significant gifts to City of Hope in recent months. In June the firm announced $7 million in philanthropic donations to support City of Hope's Graduate School of Biological Sciences, including a $5 million gift (matched by an additional $5 million from an anonymous donor) to rename the school and a $2 million gift to create a visiting professorship.
Irell & Manella was founded in 1941 and was ranked in 2008 in the top 10 percent of the Blue Chip Index and Growth Index of The American Lawyer. Chambers & Partners, publishers of the world-famous legal guides, named Irell & Manella the “U.S. Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year” in 2006 and recognized the firm nationally in its 2007 and 2008 top-tier rankings of intellectual property firms in the U.S.
“The firm’s relationship with City of Hope extends beyond the professional level, with friends and family who have turned to the cancer center for treatment. We’ve seen first hand the difference they make in people’s lives with their approach to medicine and we want to support that,” said Elliot Brown, managing partner, Irell & Manella. “Comprehensive cancer centers recognized by the National Cancer Institute are making great strides in the war against this disease, and we are privileged to support City of Hope in their research, treatment and education efforts to help people who are battling cancer.”
