On October 1, 2020, U.S. Patent Application No. 20200308232 to RAMOT at Tel-Aviv University published, claiming a new potential vaccine for coronaviruses. RAMOT is a company with activity in a wide variety of technological sectors, and works directly with researchers at Tel-Aviv University and Tel-Aviv University’s tech transfer office in order to bring research to practice. RAMOT’s application is based on research spun out of the lab of Dr. Gershoni. Dr. Gershoni’s research centers on using spike proteins capable of binding to Coronavirus receptors, while only using limited domains of the proteins called Receptor Binding Motifs, or RBMs. 

It should be noted that Dr. Gershoni and RAMOT have already received U.S. Patent No. 10,676,511 directed to similar technology, meaning that the team is now seeking to broaden their coverage for their vaccine technology. RAMOT has previously made the news for their partnership with NEOVII, a Swiss biopharmaceutical company dedicated to helping RAMOT hasten and expand deployment of the critical vaccine. 

The world’s eyes have been on Israel ever since Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz announced in early August that human trials for a coronavirus vaccine would start in Israel in Mid-October of 2020. Even as Israel prepares to launch a vaccine, Dr. Gershoni himself remains skeptical of Israel’s current projected timeline, saying that he doesn’t believe there will be a solution until Fall of 2021. 

For updates on the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, check out the free interactive visual Pandemics Patent Forecast® offered by Magic Number®.