Rocky Cares Foundation Awards $80,000 to Help Accelerate Two Promising Ewing Sarcoma Programs
New co-funding partnership will support KLIPP, a CRISPR-based therapeutic and the BCC023 DFMO clinical trial.
Progress in childhood cancer doesn’t happen in isolation. It takes scientists, physicians, families, donors, and foundations choosing to work together—with urgency.
Today, Little Warrior Foundation is proud to announce that Rocky Cares Foundation has contributed $80,000 to help co-fund two promising programs: the KLIPP/CRISPR gene-editing research led by Dr. Mats Ljungman and the BCC023 clinical trial studying DFMO in Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma.
Rocky Cares was created in memory of Raquel “Rocky” Elardo, a bright, brave young woman who was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma at age 13 and battled the disease for five years. Through its work, the foundation continues Rocky’s fight by funding research for a cure, supporting students who embody her intelligence, athleticism, and kindness, and spreading her sunshine throughout the community.
This partnership brings our organizations together around a deeply shared goal: getting better, more targeted treatments to children and young adults who cannot afford to wait.
“Rocky Cares understands the urgency of this work in a way only a family and community touched by Ewing sarcoma can,” said Piero Spada, President of Little Warrior Foundation. “By joining forces, we can put more funding behind bold science, move promising treatments forward faster, and give families more reason to hope. We’re incredibly honored to continue Rocky’s fight alongside everyone who loves her.”
Collaboration Turns Donations Into Momentum
Little Warrior Foundation’s co-funding model allows organizations like Rocky Cares to fuel rigorously vetted, high-potential research and therapeutics while LWF provides scientific oversight, active project management, milestone tracking, and transparent reporting throughout the life of each project.
It means more organizations can participate in moving meaningful science forward—and more dollars can reach the research with the potential to change outcomes for kids.
“When foundations unite around a shared mission, every contribution reaches further and moves promising science forward faster,” said Christine Pasquarelli, Vice President of Rocky Cares Foundation. “We’re honored to partner with Little Warrior Foundation and turn the extraordinary support surrounding Rocky into meaningful progress for families facing Ewing sarcoma.”
We are extremely grateful to Rocky Cares Foundation and everyone who has supported its mission. This $80,000 investment represents more than research funding. It represents two communities refusing to accept the status quo—and choosing to fight smarter, faster, and together.
That is the power of collaboration. That is how legacies become progress.
And that is how we get closer to a cure.
Two Approaches. One Relentless Goal.
Rocky Cares’ grant will support two programs attacking Ewing sarcoma from different angles.
KLIPP: Cutting Ewing Sarcoma Off at Its Genetic Source
KLIPP is a highly targeted gene-editing approach designed to use CRISPR technology to cut the EWS::FLI1 fusion at the DNA level. Led by Dr. Mats Ljungman, the project is focused on advancing the technology needed to deliver KLIPP to tumor cells and validating the approach in Ewing sarcoma models. The ultimate goal is as ambitious as it is clear: stop the cancer by disabling the genetic mistake that drives it.
Little Warrior Foundation has committed $528,728 to help advance this research and bring the strategy closer to the clinic.
BCC023: Expanding the Potential of DFMO
The BCC023 (NCT07321912) clinical trial will study DFMO—also known as eflornithine—in patients with Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma.
DFMO is a metabolic inhibitor that blocks the production of polyamines, molecules cancer cells depend on to grow and survive. The trial will examine DFMO as maintenance therapy and in combination with chemotherapy for relapsed or refractory disease.
This work is part of Little Warrior Foundation’s broader $700,000 commitment to Beat Childhood Cancer Foundation to help launch three clinical trials, including two centered on DFMO.
Learn more about Little Warrior Foundation’s co-funding partnerships and the work of Rocky Cares Foundation.