Biden announces $150 million in research grants as part of his 'moonshot' push to fight cancer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — President Joe Biden is zeroing in on the policy goals closest to his heart now that he's no longer seeking a second term, visiting New Orleans on Tuesday to promote his administration's "moonshot" initiative aiming to dramatically reduce cancer deaths.

The president and first lady Jill Biden toured medical facilities that receive federal funding to investigate cancer treatments at Tulane University. Researchers used a piece of raw meat to demonstrate how they are working to improve scanning technology to quickly distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells during surgeries.

The Bidens then championed the announcement of $150 million in awards from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Those will support eight teams of researchers around the country working on ways to help surgeons more successfully remove tumors from people with cancer. It brings the total amount awarded by the agency to develop breakthrough treatments for cancers to $400 million.

Cancer surgery “takes the best surgeons and takes its toll on families,” Biden said. He said the demonstration of cutting-edge technology he witnessed would offer doctors a way to visualize tumors in real time, reducing the need for follow-on surgeries.

“We’re moving quickly because we know that all families touched by cancer are in a race against time,” Biden said.

The teams receiving awards include ones from Tulane, Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University, Rice University, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Washington and Cision Vision in Mountain View, California.

Before he leaves office in January, Biden hopes to move the U.S. closer to the goal he set in 2022 to cut U.S. cancer fatalities by 50% over the next 25 years, and to improve the lives of caregivers and those suffering from cancer.

“I’m a congenital optimist about what Americans can do," Biden said. “There’s so much that we’re doing. It matters”

Experts say the objective is attainable — with adequate investments.

“We’re curing people of diseases that we previously thought were absolutely intractable and not survivable,” said Karen Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

Cancer is the second-highest killer of people in the U.S. after heart disease. This year alone, the American Cancer Society estimates that 2 million new cases will be diagnosed and 611,720 people will die of cancer diseases.

Still, "if all innovation ended today and we could just get people access to the innovations that we know about right now, we think we could reduce cancer mortality by another 20 to 30%,” Knudsen said.

The issue is personal enough for Biden that, in his recent Oval Office address about bowing out of the 2024 campaign, the president promised to keep fighting for “my cancer moonshot so we can end cancer as we know it."

"Because we can do it,” Biden said then.

He said in that speech that the initiative would be a priority of his final months in office, along with working to strengthen the economy and defend abortion rights, protecting children from gun violence and making changes to the Supreme Court, which he called “extreme" in its current makeup during a recent event.

Both the president and first lady have had lesions removed from their skin in the past that were determined to be basal cell carcinoma, a common and easily treated form of cancer. In 2015, their eldest son, Beau, died of an aggressive brain cancer at age 46.

“It’s not just personal," Biden said Tuesday. "It’s about what’s possible.”

The president's public schedule has been much quieter since he left the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, making Tuesday's trip stand out.

Advocates have praised Biden for keeping the spotlight on cancer, bringing stakeholders together and gathering commitments from private companies, nonprofit organizations and patient groups.

They say that the extra attention the administration has paid has put the nation on track to cut cancer death rates by at least half, preventing more than 4 million deaths from the disease, by 2047. It has done so by bolstering access to cancer treatments and reminding people of the importance of screening, which hit a setback during the coronavirus pandemic.

“President Biden’s passion and commitment to this effort has made monumental differences for the entire cancer community, including those who are suffering from cancer,” said Jon Retzlaff, the chief policy officer at the American Association for Cancer Research.

Looking ahead, Retzlaff said, “The No. 1 thing is for us to see robust, sustained and predictable annual funding support for the National Institutes of Health. And, if we see that through NIH and through the National Cancer Institute, the programs that have been created through the cancer moonshot will be allowed to continue.”

Initiatives under Biden include changes that make screening and cancer care more accessible to more people, said Knudsen, with the American Cancer Society.

For instance, Medicare has started to pay for follow-up colonoscopies if a stool-based test suggests cancer, she said, and Medicare will now pay for navigation services to guide patients through the maze of their cancer care.

“You’ve already paid for the cancer research. You’ve already paid for the innovation. Now let’s get it to people,” Knudsen said.

She also said she'd like to see the next administration pursue a ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes, which she said could save 654,000 lives over the next 40 years.

Scientists now understand that cancer is not a single disease, but hundreds of diseases that respond differently to different treatments. Some cancers have biomarkers that can be targeted by existing drugs that will slow a tumor’s growth. Many more targets await discovery.

“We hope that the next administration, whoever it may be, will continue to keep the focus and emphasis on our national commitment to end cancer as we know it,” said Dr. Crystal Denlinger, CEO of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a group of elite cancer centers.

Johnson reported from Washington state.

President Joe Biden talks with reporters Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Joe Biden greets former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and his wife Cheryl Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Joe Biden listens as Tulane University President Michael Fitts speaks during a demonstration of cancer research and detection techniques at Tulane University, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden listen during a demonstration of cancer research and detection techniques at Tulane University, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Joe Biden, escorted by Air Force Col. Angela Ochoa, Commander, 89th Airlift Wing, walks to Air Force One as he arrives to depart, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., en route to New Orleans. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden board Air Force One as they arrive to depart, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., en route to New Orleans. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he departs the White House for a trip to New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he departs the White House for a trip to New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he departs the White House for a trip to New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he leaves the White House for a trip to New Orleans, La., Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden walks to speak to reporters as he leaves the White House for a trip to New Orleans, La., Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden walks to speak to reporters as he leaves the White House for a trip to New Orleans, La., Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he departs the White House for a trip to New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden, escorted by Air Force Col. Angela Ochoa, Commander, 89th Airlift Wing, walks to Air Force One as he arrives to depart, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., en route to New Orleans. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks on the cancer moonshot initiative at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, Sept. 12, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he departs the White House for a trip to New Orleans, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is quieter on Friday, and U.S. stocks are drifting after they leaped to records the day before during a worldwide rally.

The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in early trading but still on track for its fifth winning week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 66 points, or 0.2%, after it likewise set an all-time high the day before. The Nasdaq composite was virtually flat, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time.

FedEx dragged on the market with a drop of 14% after its profit and revenue for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. It said U.S. customers sent fewer packages through priority services, while it had to contend with higher wages for workers and other costs. FedEx also cut its forecast for revenue growth for its fiscal year.

Helping to offset that was Nike, which ran 7.5% higher after it named Elliott Hill as its chief executive. Hill, 60, had spent more than three decades at Nike in various leadership positions before retiring in 2020. He replaces the retiring John Donahoe.

Shares in Trump Media and Technology Group slumped another 6% as its biggest shareholder, former President Donald Trump, won the freedom to sell his shares if he wants.

Trump owns more than half of the $3 billion company behind the Truth Social platform. But Trump and other insiders in the company had been unable to cash in because a “lock-up agreement” prevented them from selling any of their shares. Trump has said he’s in no rush to sell.

TMTG’s drop on Friday was in line with its volatile history. Over the last six months, it’s often swung by at least 5% in a day, up or down.

Homebuilder Lennar fell 4.2% after delivering a mixed earnings report. Its profit for the latest quarter topped expectations. But it also said it made less in profit on each $100 of home sales, and it expects that margin to stay flat in the current quarter.

Conditions may be set to improve for homebuilders, though. The Federal Reserve earlier this week cut its main interest for the first time in more than four years, a move that could make mortgages more affordable for home buyers.

The momentous move closed the door on a run where the Fed kept its main interest rate at a two-decade high in hopes of slowing the U.S. economy enough to stamp out high inflation. Now that inflation has fallen from its peak two summers ago, Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed can focus more on keeping the job market solid and the economy out of a recession.

The Fed is still under pressure because the job market and hiring have begun to slow under the weight of higher interest rates. Some critics say the central bank waited too long to cut rates and may have damaged the economy.

Critics also say the U.S. stock market may be running too hot on hopes that the Federal Reserve will be able to pull off what seemed nearly impossible a couple years ago: getting inflation down to 2% without creating a recession.

Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel, is still calling for a sharp drop for the S&P 500 by the end of the year. He points to how much faster stock prices have climbed than profits at companies. When stocks have looked this expensive on such measures in the past, he said a recession and sharp downturn for stocks has followed.

He also warned in a report that slowing hiring “is now symbolic of recession risk.”

No economic releases are on the calendar for Friday to show where the economy may be heading. Next week will have preliminary reports on U.S. business activity, the final revision for how quickly the economy grew during the summer and the latest update on spending by U.S. consumers.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.75% from 3.72% late Thursday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe after rising in Asia. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.5% after the Bank of Japan left interest rates steady, as was expected.

In China, the central bank left key lending rates unchanged on Friday. Indexes rose by 1.4% in Hong Kong and less than 0.1% in Shanghai.

__

AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

A bus passes the Wall St. subway station on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Trader Michale Conlon, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's news conference appears on a television screen behind him, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index and Japanese Yen exchange rate at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People ride bicycles in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)