Instead of rewarding scientists for the number of publications they have, teamwork and results for patients should be emphasized, he said. Research results should be made available immediately, and scientists should share what they learn with each other. Biden noted that physics and aerospace scientists do so, sharing "complex information seamlessly and ubiquitously all the time, but somehow, I guess for 100 years of tradition, not in medicine," Biden said.

"It's not anybody's fault," Biden added. "We have got to fix it. We owe it to future generations to seize this moment, to move with deliberate purpose.

"We are on the cusp of an awful lot of change," he said. "It's within our wheelhouse to do these things."