Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Technology
October 17, 2016 12:00 AM

In final Cancer Moonshot report, Biden lays out progress and obstacles

Elizabeth Whitman
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Biden

    Vice President Joe Biden delivered his final report Monday on the “Cancer Moonshoot,” reiterating how the U.S. is at an “inflection point” in the fight against cancer. He cited reasons to be hopeful, even as he acknowledged challenges ahead in the drive to achieve a decade of progress on fighting cancer in five years.

    President Barack Obama launched the Cancer Moonshot in January and tasked Biden with overseeing the initiative to double the pace of cancer research. Monday's report laid out a strategy to do so, organized into five strategic goals: catalyzing scientific breakthroughs, maximizing the power of data, bringing new therapies to patients more rapidly, improving prevention and diagnosis, and enhancing access and care for patients.

    The report (PDF) also detailed achievements under the moonshot so far, such as public-private partnerships to share data, the fast-tracking of patent applications for cancer therapeutics and other collaborations to catalyze research and evaluate new therapies.

    “Never before have so many government agencies come together—committing their leadership and uniting their focus—to tackle the challenges along the spectrum of cancer research and care to improve outcomes for patients,” the report said. “A coordinated effort can dramatically accelerate the pace of progress in the fight against cancer.”

    In delivering his report to Obama, Biden hailed ongoing efforts—cross-disciplinary research collaboration, technological advances that had spurred unprecedentedly effective therapies and the power of big data to uncover answers previously obscured— as already having led to progress.

    Still, Biden warned in his statement to the president, “There is a lack of coordination among efforts, a failure to share information both rapidly and effectively, and an antiquated culture of research and funding.”

    Currently, incentives reward individual rather than group success, while recruitment and retention for clinical research trials remain weak. Sharing medical records while protecting patient privacy is another hurdle, as is the equitable distribution of information related to cancer treatments, diagnostics and clinical trial across the country, he said.

    Questions of funding, meanwhile, raise concerns about progress in the long term. The White House devoted $1 billion to the initiative, but it has called that amount and funding from the Defense Department, Veterans Affairs and other government departments “an initial down-payment” that would require the cooperation of Congress in continuing to provide resources.

    Congress has yet to approve additional funding for cancer research efforts for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. The 21st Century Cures Act, which would put nearly $9 billion over the next five years into funding new medical research, awaits a vote in the Senate, after passing the House last year.

    The outcome of November's elections could also shape the moonshot's future. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has said she would "take up the charge" on cancer research; Republican nominee Donald Trump has not commented.

    Accompanying Biden's report Monday were several announcements of partnerships between the public and private sectors.

    The National Cancer Institute, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft are expected to announce a collaboration to store cancer genomic data in the cloud, for instance. The ride-hailing app Lyft, meanwhile, said it would expand its Treatment Transport program from its base in Boston to more than 200 cities by 2020. The program provides patients, especially those from low-income communities, with credit for free transport.

    Biden credited the numerous components of the Cancer Moonshot—most notably, a national summit he convened in June—with igniting a national conversation among healthcare providers, in local communities and within the private sector about cancer and spurring efforts to accelerate research, deepen prevention initiatives and expand access to care.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    doctor_patient_tablet_getty_i_i.jpg
    How AI may influence pain medication prescriptions
    Amir Dan Rubin
    Amazon's One Medical CEO to step down later this year
    Most Popular
    1
    Centene to lay off 2,000 workers
    2
    How health systems are battling price-gouging allegations
    3
    Senate advances bill to temporarily aid hospitals, health centers
    4
    Elevance, Blue Cross Louisiana halt $2.5B proposed deal
    5
    Tower Health to sell urgent care centers, close others
    Sponsored Content
    Digital Health Intelligence Newsletter: Sign up to receive a twice-weekly (T, F) morning newsletter featuring the latest reporting on technologies, trends, players and money fueling the rapid changes in how healthcare is developed, paid for and delivered.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing