Today, at the German Biotechnology Days in Berlin, State Secretary Dr. Georg Schütte, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), honoured eight winners of the GO-Bio start-up competition. A team of biotechnologists from the Technical University of Braunschweig with partners from the USA and industry will participate.
"Ticks transmit numerous diseases, such as Borreliosis or FMSE, which are spreading rapidly in northern Germany," commented Professor Michael Hust, head of the project and head of the Biotechnology Department at the Institute of Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics. "We are therefore very pleased about the award and the funding, as we can now develop a vaccine that is effective against the disease vector, the ticks themselves. Our goal is to fight the problem much more effectively and comprehensively than vaccines and therapies against the individual infectious diseases.
Prof. Hust and his team will now be able to carry out research on their new vaccine candidate for two years with funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). They will be supported by Prof. Thomas Mather, the best-known tick expert in the USA from the University of Rhode Island, and the vaccine development company Vakzine Projekt Management (VPM) GmbH from Hanover. If successful, further funding will be provided. If the evaluation is positive, the ministry will provide up to 2.5 million euros in total. Participation of BRICS research group: Department of Biotechnology of the Institute of Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics.