(Includes video and information from WHYY Newsworks)
Incyte Corporation and Cancer Support Community Delaware announced the establishment of the Incyte Cancer Care Assistance Fund for Delaware which will provide emergency financial assistance for cancer patients, their caregivers and family members living in Delaware.
The announcement came as Incyte cut the ribbon on an expanded 190,000 square foot research center and corporate headquarters complex just outside Wilmington.
The event featured public officials including U.S. Sen. Chris Coons.
The company located on Augustine Cut-off – the site of the former Wanamaker’s department store building said it will have 700 employees working there and hopes to increase that number to 1,000 by within three years.
Through the Incyte Charitable Giving Foundation, Incyte has committed to providing a maximum of $100,000 each year to the Delaware group over the next five years, beginning in 2018.
“We are very pleased to announce the creation of the Incyte Cancer Care Assistance Fund for Delaware with Cancer Support Community Delaware, an organization which, like Incyte, is dedicated to supporting patients with cancer and the local community,” said Paula Swain, executive vice president of Human Resources and Chair of The Incyte Charitable Giving Foundation. “Today, as we celebrate the opening of our newly expanded headquarters in Wilmington, we reaffirm our commitment to Delaware and to the well-being of the communities we serve.”
The fund will be administered by Cancer Support Community Delaware. Additional details about the Incyte Cancer Care Assistance Fund for Delaware will be made available in January 2018.
“Through the establishment of this fund, we aim to address the emergent needs that patients with cancer in Delaware face as they navigate their disease and its impact across all aspects of their lives,” said Nicole Topkis Pickles, executive director of Cancer Support Community Delaware.
Incyte has continued to grow in Delaware, thanks to part to its blockbuster drug Jakafi, which is used to treat blood cancers. Incyte and partners also have promising drugs in the research and development pipeline.
The company moved to Delaware from California a couple of decades ago under the leadership of a former DuPont pharmaceutical executive. The company uses the DuPont Experimental Station near Newark as its research site for many years.
More information regarding Incyte Involved and the Incyte Charitable Giving Foundation, including the application process, funding guidelines, important information for applicants and quarterly submissions calendar, can be found here.