Vaxcyte, Inc.

All references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to “we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company” and “Vaxcyte” refer to Vaxcyte, Inc. and our wholly-owned consolidated subsidiary, or, as the context may require, Vaxcyte, Inc. only.

“Vaxcyte,” “eCRM,” and other trademarks of ours appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are our property. This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains additional trade names and trademarks of other companies. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names or trademarks to imply an endorsement or sponsorship of us by such companies, or any relationship with any of these companies.

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Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements about us and our industry that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including statements regarding our future results of operations or financial condition, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would,” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include, but are not limited to, statements about:

•our expectations regarding the potential benefits, spectrum of coverage and immunogenicity of our vaccine candidates;

•our expectations regarding our preclinical study results and prior clinical study results potentially being predictive of future clinical study results;

•the timing of the initiation, progress and potential results of our preclinical studies, clinical trials and our research and development programs;

•our ability to advance vaccine candidates into, and successfully complete, preclinical studies and clinical trials;

•the commercialization of our vaccine candidates, if approved;

•estimates of our future expenses, capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

•our ability to compete effectively with existing competitors and new market entrants;

•our ability to establish and maintain intellectual property protection for our products or avoid claims of infringement;

•our and our third-party manufacturers’ manufacturing capabilities and the scalable nature of our manufacturing process;

•potential effects of extensive or changes in government regulation;

•the pricing, coverage and reimbursement of our vaccine candidates, if approved;

•our ability and the ability of our third-party contract manufacturers to operate and continue operations;

•our ability to hire and retain key personnel;

•our ability to obtain additional financing; and

•the volatility of the trading price of our common stock.

Actual events or results may differ from those expressed in forward-looking statements. You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and operating results. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur, and actual results, events or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. While we believe that information provides a reasonable basis for these statements, that information may be limited or incomplete. Our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely on these statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or to reflect new

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Summary of Risks Affecting Our Business

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those discussed more fully in the section titled “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:

•We are in the clinical or preclinical stages of vaccine development and have a limited operating history and no products approved for commercial sale, which may make it difficult for you to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability.

•We have incurred significant net losses since inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur substantial net losses for the foreseeable future. We currently have no source of product revenue and may never achieve profitability. Our stock is a highly speculative investment.

•We will require substantial additional funding to finance our operations, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when needed, we could be forced to delay, reduce or terminate certain of our development programs or other operations.

•Our approach to the discovery and development of our vaccine candidates is based on novel technologies that are unproven, which may expose us to unforeseen risks, require us to modify processes, and make it difficult to predict the time and cost of vaccine candidate development and the timing to apply for and obtain regulatory approvals.

•Our vaccine candidates are in clinical or preclinical stages of development and may fail in development or suffer delays that materially and adversely affect their commercial viability. If we are unable to complete development of or commercialize our vaccine candidates or experience significant delays in doing so, our business would be materially harmed.

•The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") may disagree with our regulatory plan, and we may fail to obtain regulatory approval of our vaccine candidates.

•Our business is highly dependent on the success of our pneumococcal conjugate vaccine ("PCV") candidates. If we are unable to successfully develop, obtain approval for and effectively commercialize our PCV candidates, our business would be significantly harmed.

•Our primary competitors have significantly greater resources and experience than we do, which may make it difficult for us to successfully develop and commercialize our vaccine candidates, or may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products before or more successfully than us.

•We may not be successful in our efforts to use our cell-free protein synthesis platform to expand our pipeline of vaccine candidates and develop marketable products.

•We currently rely on third-party manufacturing and supply partners to supply raw materials and components for, and the manufacture of, our preclinical and clinical supplies as well as our vaccine candidates. Our inability to procure necessary raw materials or to have sufficient quantities of preclinical and clinical supplies or the inability to have our vaccine candidates manufactured, including delays or interruptions at our third-party manufacturers, or our failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements or to supply sufficient quantities at acceptable quality levels or prices, or at all, would materially and adversely affect our business.

•The FDA regulatory approval process is lengthy and time-consuming, and we may experience significant delays in the clinical development and regulatory approval of our vaccine candidates.

•The development, review and approval of our product candidates are subject to the operational capacity, processes and resource levels of regulatory authorities, which may fluctuate over time and could delay or adversely affect our business.

•If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology and products, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.

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