The invention- Recombinant tick-borne encephalitis virus-like particle and its medical application- has been granted a patent. Theinvention was worked on by a team led by Ewelina Król, Ph.D., Prof. UG , and composed of Marta Zimna, M.Sc., Gabriela Brzuska, Ph.D., Prof. Bogusław Szewczyk and Sara Boch-Kminikowska, M.Sc,

I am pleased to announce that the Patent Office of the Republic of Poland has issued a decision to grant the invention of a team of scientists from the Recombinant Vaccines Unit of the UG, working under the supervision ofProf. Ewelina Król, patent Pat.244794, says Katarzyna Gronowska, director of the Technology Transfer Centre responsible for coordinating the intellectual property protection process at the UG.

The researchers have developed an innovative vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBE) based on recombinant virus-like particles (VLPs). VLPs, which mimic the native virus particles but do not contain genetic material, show good immunogenic properties. By using an unconventional production system (Leishmania tarentolae), this vaccine has great potential as a cost-effective alternative to currently available vaccines.

The implementation of the developed recombinant vaccine at a much lower cost could contribute highly to the availability of vaccination against TBEV. The low cost of the vaccine could also allow it to be used as a veterinary vaccine, which is currently not available.

The invention is also the subject of international application number EP22173183A of the European Patent Office.