Imagine if you could teach your own body to identify and destroy breast tumor cells!

That
is the goal of the vaccine research supported by the Climb for Hope.
You may wonder how your contribution can make an impact on expensive research like this…Every dollar
donated to the Climb for Hope allows us to leverage our resources to expand the breast cancer vaccine program.
These monies allow us to manufacture the vaccine and other test materials, which federal grants will not pay
for. They also allow us to hire clinical trial support personnel that grant funds typically will not stretch far
enough to do.

Support we get through the generosity of organizations like the Climb for Hope is absolutely essential for us to
position ourselves to compete successfully for federal funding. Last year, everyone’s efforts allowed us to
accelerate the pace of our work in multiple ways:

--Complete recruitment to the first clinical trial by the end of this year, and begin analyzing the data for public
presentation. This is 6 to 8 months faster than anticipated based on the initial pace. We have 28 people in this
study.

Since late October 2007, we did complete accrual to this study, and the study is closed to new people. We
submitted the first results of immune activation, which was selected for oral presentation in early June at the
international clinical cancer meeting (ASCO). This honor is reserved only for work that is felt to represent a
significant advance/impact in the field. We are continuing to mine the data for clues as to how to make the
immune system work even better.

--The successful launch of a second trial testing the vaccine with Trastuzumab (Herceptin) in those with HER-
2+ breast cancer. We already have 7 people on this study.

Since late October 2007, we have completed half the accrual (10 people) to this study. I expect this study to
finish in 18 months. Hopefully it will be even faster with the great publicity generated by CFH. Additionally,
we submitted the data regarding the laboratory modeling for presentation at the basic cancer research
meeting (AACR). This preclinical work was also selected for oral presentation.

--The design of two additional trials for women with metastatic breast cancer who have already received most
available treatments. These studies will allow us to study the impact of the vaccine when we combine it with
other innovative treatments that include the targeted drugs that light the fuse of the immune response, or choke
off the cancer’s blood supply so that it cannot grow. New support will allow us to effectively launch these
studies.

Since late October 2007, we have submitted a grant that is under review for one of these studies, and plan to
submit a grant for the second this spring. These grants will pay for most of the cost of conducting the studies,
but not for vaccine manufacturing and other clinical support costs.

--The accelerated pace facilitated by your support will allow us to implement a clinical trial testing the vaccine
in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. This is where it is likely to have the greatest impact. The idea is
to use the vaccine as an extra insurance policy, with the goal of decreasing the likelihood that the breast cancer
will come back. Continued support should make this early stage trial a reality by 2009.

This is the near-term future and the timeline will depend in part on the ongoing analyses of the first study
and new vaccine manufacturing/grant support.