On Nov. 1, 2016, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center announced the opening of the Bezos Family Immunotherapy Clinic, a first-of-its-kind clinic dedicated to providing immunotherapies for cancer patients in clinical trials. The clinic allowed researchers to conduct twice as many trials in the next year.

Patients will be able to receive the Hutch’s novel immunotherapies for cancer at roughly double the capacity that existed before the 9,222-square-foot clinic opened, and intensive monitoring will enable researchers to better understand why some patients respond, where others do not, and to achieve the goal of developing the best curative approach to treatment for each individual patient.

The clinic features 15 patient care suites designed to accommodate a wide array of outpatient services and offer ample space for family and friends who accompany patients.

Much of the focus at the new clinic is on therapies involving T cells, which play a central role in the immune system. Hutch scientists have been at the forefront of genetically modifying these cells so that they will more effectively target cancers.

Staff at the clinic will take these immune cells from a patient, have the cells specially engineered in a nearby Hutch cell-processing facility, and then re-infuse them to attack the patient’s cancer.