The initiative will seek to cut cancer deaths by at least half.

During the Obama administration, the US federal government allocated funds for a cancer initiative known as “moonshot.” The purpose of this initative was to expedite research into cancer therapies and potential cures and make those therapies more readily available to the public. The initiative stalled out during the Trump administration, but current President Joe Biden will be announcing his intent to reinvigorate it.

Biden revives 'Cancer Moonshot' plan with goal to lower death rate https://t.co/bNqF76uFKK pic.twitter.com/JnwNv8Ctui

— Reuters (@Reuters) February 2, 2022

Biden, who lost his son Beau to brain cancer in 2015, was a major driving force behind the initiative’s original founding. With the reinvigoration of the iniative now, Biden hopes to cut the current cancer rate down by at least 50% within the next 25 years.

According to a White House press release, in addition to researching cancer therapies, the initiative hopes to “improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer.”

“Taken together, these actions will drive us toward ending cancer as we know it today,” the press release said.

President Biden to relaunch White House "Cancer Moonshot" initiative aimed at halving cancer deaths by 2047 https://t.co/zeK7RCZTWD

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 2, 2022

In addition to the announcement, Biden is also slated to encourage US citizens to get back on track with regular cancer screenings. According to the press release, Biden will be making “a call to action on cancer screening to jumpstart progress on screenings that were missed as a result of the pandemic, and help ensure that everyone in the United States equitably benefits from the tools we have to prevent, detect and diagnose cancer.”