CVC and V Foundation Fuel $500K Grant for Next Phase of HER2+ Breast Cancer Vaccine Research

A $500,000 grant from the Cancer Vaccine Coalition, in partnership with The V Foundation, is set to expand UW Medicine’s WOKVAC Phase 2 clinical trial—one of the most advanced therapeutic breast cancer vaccine studies worldwide. Designed for patients with stage I–III HER2+ disease, WOKVAC has already shown a strong safety profile and robust immune activation. The funding will allow broader enrollment, enhance statistical power, and accelerate progress toward a vaccine that could prevent recurrence and reshape breast cancer care.

Most Don't Know This Breast Cancer Vaccine Exists

But a New Grant Will Supercharge the Research

More cancer patients will soon be able to enroll in a groundbreaking Phase 2 clinical trial of a therapeutic breast cancer vaccine, thanks to a $500,000 grant announced today by the Cancer Vaccine Coalition (CVC). This is the first of several planned grants for the bold new initiative aimed at modernizing cancer treatments. It is awarded as part of a strategic partnership between CVC and the V Foundation for Cancer Research. This inaugural grant funds the expansion of the University of Washington School of Medicine's clinical trial with WOKVAC, one of the most clinically advanced breast cancer vaccines in the world with the potential to help prevent cancer recurrence and transform outcomes for patients.

Treatment with WOKVAC has already demonstrated a favorable safety profile and robust immune response in early-stage patients with HER2+ breast cancer. This expansion allows UW Medicine to enroll additional participants, understand their cancer-killing immune response, and strengthen the trial's statistical power as researchers move the potentially pivotal study forward.

"Cancer vaccines are here and at a tipping point," said Dr. Nora Disis, Director of the Cancer Vaccine Institute at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Member at Fred Hutch Cancer Center. “This financial support puts us closer to a future where we can activate a patient's immune system to fight cancer.”

For this clinical trial, the WOKVAC vaccine is administered alongside chemotherapy and targeted therapies in patients with stage one, two or three HER2+ breast cancer, prior to having surgery to remove their tumors.

"Our goal in this study is twofold," explains principal investigator Dr. Will Gwin, “We aim to maximize the immune system's ability to fight cancer during treatment, and then to generate long-lasting immune memory that can help prevent the disease from coming back. This could be a revolutionary step in a new and more effective class of cancer treatments.”

The Cancer Vaccine Coalition is a national nonprofit launched by breast cancer survivor and former Today Show and NBC Nightly News correspondent, Kristen Dahlgren, to accelerate the development of the most promising cancer vaccines.

"This is an important day for our effort to bring less toxic and more effective treatments to patients," says Dahlgren, “With this grant, we can help answer critical questions and move therapeutic cancer vaccines toward approval. Other countries are already embracing large scale trials of cancer vaccines. CVC is building powerful collaborations and raising funds to do that here.”

The V Foundation for Cancer Research, a top-rated cancer research charity, is partnering with CVC as part of its commitment to cutting-edge immunotherapy approaches. This grant is being awarded through the Cancer Vaccine Coalition and V Foundation's new Game-Changer Grant, made possible by a $2 million matching gift to CVC from the Brian and Sheila Jellison Family Foundation.

"The WOKVAC expansion is exactly the type of bold, high-impact research The V Foundation exists to fund," said Susanna Greer, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at the V Foundation. “UW Medicine and Fred Hutch's expertise is world-class, and this work could spark discoveries that ripple across the cancer research community; changing lives for generations.”

Over 280,000 individuals are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, with HER2-positive breast cancer being one of the most aggressive subtypes. WOKVAC targets the HER2 protein—a well-validated cancer antigen—and two other cancer proteins using a multi-peptide antigen vaccine approach that stimulates durable, tumor-specific immunity.

"Getting WOKVAC alongside my treatment felt like an added layer of protection—hope grounded in science," says Carmel Laurino, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40 and is a WOKVAC vaccine recipient. “I'm grateful I had access to this trial, and I want more patients to have the same chance. A vaccine that's safe, scalable, and affordable could save not only lives, but livelihoods—and with these additional resources to expand the research, it feels like we're so much closer to making that future possible for all patients who need it.”