Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus celebrated a triumphant moment in 2017 — the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had recommended new treatment practices for shingles — based on a vaccine initially developed at the campus.

Shingrix had just become the second vaccine approved to prevent shingles, a disease that afflicts millions and disproportionately affects people over 50 also.

It’s exactly the kind of breakthrough the campus hopes to replicate and a goal that just became more achievable thanks to a $50 million gift from The Anschutz Foundation, university officials said. 

“With this tremendous gift from The Anschutz Foundation, our goal is to fund the next Shingrix (vaccine) … the next big, transformational innovations in health and medicine, particularly those that are just on the precipice of improving or saving lives,” CU Anschutz Chancellor Donald Elliman told The Denver Gazette. 

Elliman said the gift will allow the university to look for “bold, ambitious initiatives,” particularly those with “the greatest promise for impact” and “move more of that essential work forward faster, taking innovations with untold potential to the people, families and communities who need them more quickly than would otherwise be possible.”

“Such initiatives could be focused on prevention and population health, drugs or devices, new approaches to patient care, new diagnostics or novel therapies,” Elliman said. “The sky is the limit.”

The $50 million will fund the Anschutz Acceleration Initiative, a program that seeks to advance “cutting edge healthcare innovations” that are poised to reach patients within the next three to five years, the university said. 

“We share a vision with CU Anschutz to address the most complex medical problems and move them forward as quickly as possible,” Christian P. Anschutz, president of The Anschutz Foundation said. 

The Anschutz Corporation owns Clarity Media Group, the parent company of Colorado Politics and The Denver Gazette. 

The university said the initiative will fund research and innovative approaches, ranging from preventative care and technology with the goal to help scientists develop the next generation of therapies and healthcare solutions. Such solutions could encompass prevention or population health, innovative treatments and diagnostics, novel therapeutic development, medical devices, as well as digital health technologies, the university added.

Dave Ryan, Executive Director of The Anschutz Foundation, said CU Anschutz is a hub for leading-edge research and innovation that attracts some of the best minds in medicine.

“By accelerating their research, we can positively impact healthcare worldwide and help people improve their lives,” Ryan said. 

John J. Reilly, Jr., Dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and vice chancellor for health affairs at CU Anschutz, said the $50 million donation provides scientists the funding to “move initiatives forward more rapidly and make an immediate impact in medicine.”

The Anschutz Foundation is an integral partner in the growth and development of the medical campus, allowing the campus to gain the reputation as a national and international leader in healthcare innovation, the university said.

“This gift solidifies our position as a medical destination,” Elliman said. “A gift of this magnitude not only provides invaluable resources to speed exciting developments in medicine and healthcare, but it also further elevates the visibility of the CU Anschutz Medical Campus as a leading destination for high-quality care across the lifespan and a hub for innovation.”  

“With The Anschutz Foundation by our side over these past two decades, we have been able to attract eminent leaders in diverse fields from bioinformatics and personalized medicine, to women’s health, mental health, cancer, orthopedics and other vital fields,” he added. “Their support has also boosted our ability to successfully compete with some of the world’s top leaders in medicine and health.”

The Anschutz Acceleration Initiative will award grants to CU Anschutz faculty in January 2024, the university said.