Newswise — The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) commends President Joe Biden on his administration’s efforts to ”end cancer as we know it.”
During an event on Monday, September 12, at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, President Biden shared updates on the Cancer Moonshot, which was formally relaunched earlier this year.
The event was highlighted by the president’s announcement of his intention to appoint Dr. Renee Wegrzyn as the inaugural director of Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). Under Dr. Wegrzyn’s leadership, ARPA-H will support projects that drive biomedical advances to help prevent, detect, and treat complex diseases, including cancer.
“With an emphasis on accelerating progress against previously intractable medical challenges, ARPA-H has great potential to enhance the work of federal agencies like the National Cancer Institute (NCI),” said AACI Executive Director Jennifer W. Pegher, who attended Monday’s event. “Both agencies will play key roles in achieving the goals of the Cancer Moonshot, and we believe that funding for ARPA-H should complement—not replace—NCI funding.”
After reigniting the Cancer Moonshot, the Biden-Harris administration formed the first-ever Cancer Cabinet, which named five priority actions: closing the screening gap, understanding and addressing environmental exposure, decreasing the impact of preventable cancers, bringing cutting-edge research through the pipeline to patients and communities, and supporting patients and caregivers.
President Biden also signed an executive order establishing the Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative. As part of the initiative, the National Institutes of Health is expanding the Cancer Research Data Ecosystem, which encourages data sharing to support cancer care for individual patients and enables discovery of new treatments.
“As an association representing 105 of North America’s leading cancer centers, AACI applauds the administration for addressing important issues like health equity and diversity in the cancer workforce through the Cancer Moonshot,” Pegher said.
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AACI’s mission is to accelerate progress against cancer by enhancing the impact of North America’s leading academic cancer centers. For more information, please visit aaci-cancer.org.
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