VP Joe Biden to Urge International Cooperation in Cancer Research

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden has promised to push international cooperation in the fight against cancer in a speech he made at the Vatican. Biden's office is positive about looking at global research partners and will describe how his cancer "moonshot" project may have an international impact.

There has been an impressive progress in the fight against cancer in recent years even though it still remains to be the nation's No. 2 killer. President Barack Obama appointed Vice President Biden to find a way to hasten the progress. Although the details were unavailable at the time of appointment, the number thing Biden wanted is an increase in research funding and getting scientists to share data to urge breakthroughs.

Fox News stated that after talks with the Congress, President Obama will ask for a $755 million out of next year's budget to fund cancer research. This will bring the total price tag for the Vice President's cancer initiative to $1 billion. The funds would support research in immunotherapy, combination therapy, early detection and vaccines to prevent viruses that cause cancer.

The Vice-President is due to speak at an international conference about breakthroughs in regenerative medicine. This gathering will be hosted by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Stem for Life Foundation. This will be attended by doctors, patients, as well as researchers, so Biden thinks this will be a good time to urge them cooperate in finding a cure and fighting cancer, Salt Lake City Tribune reported.

According to Yahoo News, Biden will visit Pope Francis during his stop at the Vatican. Vice-President Biden's passed away due to brain cancer last year. The event resulted to Biden's dedication to dedicating his final year at the office to trying to accelerate efforts to finding a cure for the number 2 leading cause of death in the United States.