Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max Appearing at the JOHN F. KENNEDY Library and Museum on Monday, JOE BIDEN framed his anti-cancer initiative as a matter of utmost urgency. He likened it to Kennedy’s own effort to send a man to the moon 60 years earlier, noting the need to summon “the same unwillingness to postpone, the same national purpose.” He referred to the effort, previously dubbed the cancer moonshot, as the “supercharged” moonshot. But, urgency and government bureaucracy often are at odds. And Biden’s trek to Massachusetts had the perverse effect of spotlighting the difficulties in moving the Cancer Moonshot initiative forward, even with the emotional and political backing of the president. The Cancer Moonshot was relaunched in February. But it has limited staff, and its initial supervisor — top science adviser ERIC LANDER — stepped down after POLITICO reported he’d bullied subordinates and violated White House workplace policy. The new research agency at the center of the initiative, known as ARPA-H, received just a fraction of the initial funding sought by the administration. Its creation has also prompted concerns it will end up cannibalizing resources from the government’s already-established National Cancer Institute. When Biden on Monday announced RENEE WEGRZYN as ARPA-H’s inaugural director following a monthslong search, it drew shrugs from much of the cancer advocacy community, where Wegrzyn is a relative unknown. Wegrzyn is joining the administration from biotech firm Ginkgo Bioworks, and previously did a stint at the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — one of the agencies with a more entrepreneurial focus on new technologies that White House officials are hoping to replicate with ARPA-H. "The ARPA mission is not to go out and start treating patients," said GREG SIMON, who headed the first Cancer Moonshot during the Obama era. "The ARPA mission is to try as many new technologies that they can get to fail as quickly as possible and find out what works." Alongside new Cancer Institute Director MONICA BERTAGNOLLI , Wegrzyn's initial job will be to convince lawmakers and advocates the two entities are distinct enough to justify pouring billions of dollars into both of them at the same time. “One cannot exist at the expense of the other if the goal of the moonshot is to truly accelerate progress against cancer,” said KAREN KNUDSEN, CEO of the American Cancer Society, adding that there will need to be “clear vision between the two leaders” to fulfill the Moonshot’s promise. Still, Biden’s intense focus on cancer — and his personal connection to the disease from his son, BEAU — have earned the effort a deep well of goodwill among those working on the issue. Knudsen, who attended Biden’s speech on Monday, praised him for also prioritizing areas like cancer screening and access to treatment, rather than just focusing narrowly on scientific breakthroughs. RAYMOND DUBOIS , the director of the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina and the Executive Chair of the Board of the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, met with JILL BIDEN last year when she came to tour Hollings. He has also been in touch with some members of Biden’s “Cancer Cabinet.” Dubois said that from private meetings with the first lady and her staff, he was impressed by her depth of knowledge about cancer research and screenings, and pleased by her interest in the clinic’s outreach to nonwhite and underserved communities. “She wanted to know what we had been doing to make it successful,” he said. “We need to treat everybody to move forward.” The White House has also aggressively sought input from cancer organizations and researchers on its policy goals, searching for even small areas it can register as a win. In one early example, Knudsen and others raised concerns about a barrier for colon cancer patients: Some who tested positive on an at-home test were having difficulty getting insurers to cover their subsequent colonoscopy. In July, the administration proposed technical changes that would categorize at-home tests as a preventive service, eliminating cost-sharing and ensuring Medicare would cover it for patients 45 years old and up. “I was heartened by the appreciation that it’s going beyond just the breakthroughs that reduce mortality,” Knudsen said, “and about improving life and improving access to care.” For now, Democrats and Republicans continue to push the White House on specifics such as early cancer detection screenings. Rep. SYLVIA GARCIA (D-Texas) told West Wing Playbook that she and nearly two dozen other lawmakers from both parties sent a letter to Biden earlier this year urging the White House to prioritize multi-cancer early detection technologies (MCED) as part of the moonshot research and development programs. While Biden hasn’t put together a major legislative package on cancer as he did on cancer research when he was vice president, he has found some rhetorical engagement and support from prominent political figures who are taking the initiatives seriously. Even at the height of a Covid-19 surge earlier this year, the White House was packed with high-profile members of Congress for an event launching the moonshot. Lisa Kashinsky contributed reporting. MESSAGE US — Are you RENEE WEGRZYN? We want to hear from you and we may publish your response tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com.
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