​BUFFALO, N.Y. — ​Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center will benefit from the newly announced federal Cancer Moonshot Initiative.

Representative Brian Higgins was selected because of its extraordinary background in cancer research and treatment.

"The president announced the initiative, $6 billion to advance new therapies under the area of immunotherapy again," Higgins said. "Roswell Park is at the forefront of that nationally under Candace's Johnson Leadership..."

Although it’s not exactly clear how much money Roswell will receive, the Cancer Center’s CEO says the money will support research into boosting the immune system’s natural defenses against cancer.

"This initiative is going to save lives, it is so exciting,” Dr. Candace Johnson said. “Cancer affects every single one of us. We have great innovations in the cancer world. We are using our immune system now to help fight cancer and some really exiting discoveries have come out of that research. We are well positioned for this."

Roswell Park says it’s provided cancer care services for more than 42,000 patients in the last year.

The goal of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative is to cut cancer death rates in half by 2047.