Milan – 11 October 2018 – The Prada Group has announced its support for a project to foster cancer treatment research that was launched by the Fondazione Gianni Bonadonna. The initiative, for which the Prada Group is a Supporting Partner, aims to continue the legacy of the great oncologist after whom the foundation is named. Bonadonna was responsible for innovation in all aspects of cancer research and treatment, leading to substantial progress and tangible clinical results in cancer care.

The project, launched today Thursday 11 October 2018 at the headquarters of Fondazione Prada, involves:

• supporting multidisciplinary teams of doctors and researchers dedicated to studying and developing new treatments for cancer patients, also involving industry and public and private investors;

• fellowship programme for young oncologists in partnership with universities across the world, hospitals and leading research centres, providing an effective way to expand the exchange of scientific ideas. 

Prada Group representatives will help with the development of the project by promoting the Fondazione Gianni Bonadonna’s initiatives and providing their expertise in communication to ensure the public is informed about the ideas, results and breakthroughs that emerge over the years. 

The Fondazione Prada may also play a future role in the in-depth interdisciplinary research offered by this project, by including a commitment to promoting scientific understanding and education in its activities. The Fondazione Prada not only endorses the spirit of the initiative, but also sees scientific advances and their impact on our daily lives as one of the most intellectually stimulating challenges for a cultural institution.

Prada Group representatives will help with the development of the project by promoting the Fondazione Gianni Bonadonna’s initiatives and providing their expertise in communication to ensure the public is informed about the ideas, results and breakthroughs that emerge over the years.

The Fondazione Prada may also play a future role in the in-depth interdisciplinary research offered by this project, by including a commitment to promoting scientific understanding and education in its activities. The Fondazione Prada not only endorses the spirit of the initiative, but also sees scientific advances and their impact on our daily lives as one of the most intellectually stimulating challenges for a cultural institution.

The project’s launch day will be divided into two separate parts. The morning will see speeches by Dr. Larry Norton, Senior Vice President at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Luca Gianni, president of the Fondazione Gianni Bonadonna, and Carlo Mazzi, chairman of Prada. A scientific session will be then held in the afternoon, with the participation of over 200 oncologists from Italy and abroad, representing key global players in cancer research and treatment.

Miuccia Prada, co-CEO of the Prada Group and chair of Fondazione Prada, said: “I think that supporting those who give their life to research and treatment of cancer, the disease of our time, is something we owe to the society, to ensure that the success of treatments continue to improve, not only for the present day, but also, and most importantly, for future generations. In addition, this also provides an opportunity to increase my involvement in exploring the role of science in contemporary society in an interdisciplinary context.” 

Luca Gianni, president of the Fondazione Gianni Bonadonna, said: “The foundation wants to honour a giant of medicine, who changed the way we perceive and tackle various cancers, and created tools that allow us to treat many of them and cure some. Gianni Bonadonna, a highly cultured visionary with endless curiosity, was also always a practical and down-to-earth man. The best tribute to him is to practice what he preached: to embrace innovation and to trust and support young talent. Thanks to the Prada Group, the foundation we named after him can now set about doing just that.”