President Joe Biden outlined a bold vision in a New Orleans speech highlighting his “cancer moonshot” initiative.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden announced $150 million in research dollars to develop technologies for better tumor-removal surgeries through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health on Tuesday. The cancer moonshot aims to reduce the cancer death rate by half by 2047. Nearly 2 million people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer each year.
“We’re moving quickly because we know all families touched by cancers are in a race against time,” Biden said. “It’s all part of our goal, our cancer moonshot, to end cancer as we know it, and even cure some cancers.”
Biden launched the initiative during his time as vice president after his eldest son, Beau Biden, died from an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2015. Ahead of the speech, he toured Tulane University’s business school for a cancer research demonstration. He previously visited the area in 2016 to launch the initiative.
“Cancer touches us all,” Jill Biden said. “When Joe and I lost our son to brain cancer, we decided to turn our pain into purpose. We wanted to help families like ours so that they won’t have to experience this terrible loss.”
Joe Biden said one of his aims is not only to fund cancer research but to make sure the findings are shared widely in order to make progress.
“Imagine cancer surgery that removes all the tumor the first time without harming healthy cells,” he said. “Compare that to today. As all of you know, cancer surgery is an incredibly challenging procedure that takes the best surgeons in the world, and it takes its toll on families.”
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The president promised to make other funding announcements in the near future but said the research already underway could lead to major breakthroughs.
“Today, we’re announcing $150 million ARPA-H funding for some of nations, cutting edge cancer resources,” Biden said. “That includes right here at Tulane University.”
