PORTLAND — Oregon Health & Science University officials said Thursday they have met the $500 million fundraising challenge issued by Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny.
The Knights in 2013 offered to donate $500 million toward cancer research at OHSU if the Portland school could raise an equal amount by Feb. 4, 2016.
It didn’t take nearly that much time.
“Penny and I have total confidence in Brian Druker and the entire OHSU Knight Cancer Institute team to put a stop to a disease that touches each of our lives,” Phil Knight said in a statement. “These last 22 months have shown what is possible when people of vision focus on a single goal. We are more convinced than ever that cancer will meet its match at OHSU, and we are proud to play a role in this history in the making.”
Druker, a high-profile researcher who developed the cancer drug Gleevec, plans to recruit about 25 top scientists to conduct groundbreaking research into the early detection of cancer, which is known to improve survival rates.