# An integrated polymeric carrier for subunit cancer vaccines

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $499,661

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cancer vaccines are a promising immuno-oncology approach that can elicit highly tumor-specific
responses from the immune system, resulting in prolonged anti-cancer protection. Peptide-based
vaccines are especially attractive because they have low toxicity risk and can be produced easily
at large scale with good storage stability. However, peptide antigens are inherently poorly
immunogenic and susceptible to rapid degradation and excretion after administration. Thus, the
success of peptide-based cancer vaccines are critically tied to their effective formulation and
delivery. The ideal peptide vaccine formulation would replicate each of these critical aspects:
recognition and internalization by dendritic cells, activation of these dendritic cells, and antigen
delivery to both MHC I (called cross-presentation) and MHC II molecules. In this application, we
propose to develop a polymer-based peptide antigen carrier that uniquely addresses all of the
aforementioned delivery needs in a well-controlled, scalable system through the integration of
targeting ligands, controlled release adjuvants, and cytosolic and lysosomal antigen delivery
mechanisms. Our main objectives are to 1) optimize polymer structure and synthesis through
material engineering, 2) assess peptide and adjuvant delivery and characterize in vitro and in vivo
trafficking and delivery, 3) optimize formulations for vaccine efficacy in a murine melanoma model
and 4) evaluate efficacy and safety in a murine breast cancer model for cancer prevention and
therapy. Successful completion of these aims will lead to a formulation poised for GMP
manufacturing and the IND pathway toward clinical testing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10795097
- **Project number:** 5R01CA257563-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Suzie H. Pun
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $499,661
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-03-05 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10795097

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10795097, An integrated polymeric carrier for subunit cancer vaccines (5R01CA257563-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10795097. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*