cancer moonshotThe National Immunotherapy Coalition, the pharma, biotech health insurance and tech industry group formed for a cancer "moonshot" to speed up testing of cancer drugs and develop a vaccine, is backed by Sitrick and Company and W20 Group on the PR front.

The coalition launched Jan. 11 with the backing of major pharma players like Amgen, Independence Blue Cross, Etubics and NantWorks. The plan calls for clinical trials at all stages of cancer in as many as 20 tumor types for 20,000 patients by 2020.

"There are unique times in history when events and advancements in technology converge to elicit a quantum leap in medical care. This is not only a unique time, but also a unique inflection point in the history of cancer,” said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, M.D., founder and CEO of NantWorks.

Dubbed the Cancer MoonShot 2020 Program, the effort will use findings from Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials to inform Phase 3 trials with th goal to develop a cancer vaccine by 2020.

President Obama backed the program in his State of the Union address on Jan. 12.