ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Life, Peter Kelly said, has been very good to him and his family.
A long career in manufacturing of semiconductors and electronics have blessed him with good fortune and great wealth, he said.
So, he said, he and wife, Odete, have made it their mission to use it to help better the lives of those battling cancer.
“We’ve been looking for ways to give back to the Valley."Philanthropist Peter Kelly
Through a $12 million gift from the Kellys, Lehigh Valley Topper Institute will take a giant leap forward to wobbling cancers’ knees.
At a news conference at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest on Tuesday, the Kellys were thanked for their gift with the announcement of the Peter and Kelly Odete Kelly Center for Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy.
The monetary gift will help the center focus on personalized immunotherapy through transitional research, therapeutic cancer vaccines, expanded access to clinical trials and an interdisciplinary team of experts, officials said.
“We’re from Liverpool, but we’ve been in the Lehigh Valley since 2020,” Peter Kelly said. “We’ve been looking for ways to give back to the Valley.
"I’m very interested in technology and have been reading about immunotherapy."
'Invest in that courage'
Three years ago, Kelly said, he was introduced to Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute Physician-in-Chief Dr. Suresh Nair.
"I just felt his vision was incredibly compelling, what he’s built here," Kelly said. "So we thought we could invest in that courage and have worldwide experts move to the Valley and create something special.”
Now part of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute bills itself as the region’s only clinical trial facility for an immunotherapeutic pancreatic cancer vaccine.
The precision breakthrough therapy teaches the immune system to fight cancer cells by targeting specific genetic mutations that cause cancer cells to grow.
The Kelly Center’s mission will be to develop and test new immunotherapies, new indications for them and new combinations of drugs that include immunotherapies, officials said.
'We are bringing hope'
Benefits of personalized immunotherapy include increasing the curability of metastatic cancer, minimizing collateral damage to healthy tissue and reducing side effects of traditional treatments, they said.
“This gift brings strength and hope to everybody, including our patients and our staff,” said Nair, who also is the Kelly Center' medical director.
“Our goal is to expand clinical trials that will have a profound impact and improve the lives of those living with cancer,” Yehia said.Jefferson Health President Dr. Baligh Yehia
“We can try to teach the patients’ T-cells to see where the cancer is and be precise and hopefully cure it.
“I want to express thanks to Peter and Odete for believing in our team, trusting us in the journey and keeping care close to home.”
The cancer-treating power of the center will be felt far and wide throughout the Lehigh Valley, Jefferson Health President Dr. Baligh Yehia said.
“Our goal is to expand clinical trials that will have a profound impact and improve the lives of those living with cancer,” Yehia said.
Thomas Jefferson University President Susan Aldridge said the Kelly Center for Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy "is poised to tap into a rich history of transitional research at Jefferson.
“Our scientific teams can identify and develop new immunotherapies for cancer, accelerating movement from the laboratory bench to the patients’ bedside.
“We are bringing hope to cancer patients through the research that the world needs.”
'Contribute to society'
Kelly is semi-retired from a career as a semiconductor and executive board member of Plexus, an electronics manufacturing company.
He previously was executive vice president and general manager of global operations at NXP Semiconductors.
"We feel it's our responsibility to do this for those who need help.”Peter Kelly
He also held positions at UGI Corp., Agere Systems, Fujitsu Transaction Solutions and Texas Instruments-France.
The Kellys said they, as do far too many others, have family and friends who have battled cancer.
“But that’s not the main reason we decided to make these kinds of gifts,” Peter Kelly said. “It’s that I was brought up in an atmosphere that you need to contribute to society if you can.
“I spent a lot of time working. But Odete has been involved for many years in a whole bunch of charities. We feel it's our responsibility to do this for those who need help.”
Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute is among Lehigh Valley Health Network’s five specialized health institutes.
Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute is part of LVHN, which consists of 13 hospital campuses in eastern Pennsylvania, including four in Allentown, two in Bethlehem and two in Pottsville, Schuylkill County.
