White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force
Vice President Biden addresses the first meeting of the Cancer Moonshot Task Force.
The White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force, chaired by Vice President Joe Biden, will focus on making the most of federal investments, targeted incentives, private sector efforts from industry and philanthropy, patient engagement initiatives, and other mechanisms to support cancer research and enable progress in treatment and care.
The task force will work with a number of federal agencies that have responsibility for basic, translational, and clinical research; therapy development; regulation of medical products; and medical care related to cancer.
The President charged the task force with producing a detailed set of findings and recommendations before December 31, 2016, to:
- Accelerate our understanding of cancer and its prevention, early detection, treatment, and cure
- Improve patient access and care
- Support greater access to new research, data, and computational capabilities
- Encourage development of cancer treatments
- Identify and address any unnecessary regulatory barriers and consider ways to expedite administrative reforms
- Ensure optimal investment of federal resources
- Identify opportunities to develop public–private partnerships and increase coordination of the federal government’s efforts with the private sector, as appropriate
To assist with the development of its recommendations, the task force will consult with external experts from the scientific sectors, including the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB), and reach out to representatives from the cancer patient community, academia, business, nonprofit organizations, state and local government agencies, and other interested persons.
The task force is led by Executive Director Greg Simon, a cancer survivor, former president of FasterCures, and chief executive of the health care investing company Poliwogg. The task force consists of the heads of the executive branch departments, agencies, and offices listed below:
- Department of Commerce
- Department of Defense
- Department of Energy
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Office of Management and Budget
- Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Domestic Policy Council
- National Economic Council
- Food and Drug Administration
- National Cancer Institute
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- Other executive branch departments, agencies, or offices as the President may designate