Biden to relaunch ‘cancer moonshot’ effort at Wednesday event

President Biden on Wednesday will host a relaunch of the “cancer moonshot” project he oversaw during the Obama administration.

Biden will be joined by Vice President Harris and first lady Jill Biden for the event at the White House. Additional details were not immediately available.

Biden previously oversaw the moonshot effort, which was announced during the final year of the Obama administration as a government effort to end cancer.

The Biden Cancer Initiative launched in 2017 as a vehicle to bring together researchers and share data. The initiative suspended operations after Biden announced his White House bid in 2019.

The cause has been personal for Biden, whose son, Beau, died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46. The president has talked about ending cancer throughout his campaign and presidency to date, saying it would be a priority for him.

Last March, Biden convened a group of bipartisan lawmakers at the White House to discuss investments in cancer research and treatment.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide each year, according to the National Cancer Institute, and more than 1 million people each year are diagnosed with the disease in the United States.