The Ministry of Health of Russia has authorized the import of Oncaspar (pegaspargase), a therapy for acute leukemia, in a package in a foreign language, the agency reports in its the official Telegram channel. The Ministry clarified that the drug would arrive in the country soon.
Its procurement will be arranged through the Circle of Kindness Foundation, as well as through other channels.
The drug was first registered in Russia in 2007, but in 2017 the manufacturer, medac GmbH, stopped importing it to the country. In October 2021, the Russian Government extended the effective term of the rules for subsidizing drug procurement from other countries.
In May 2021, the procurement of Oncaspar was organized by Endopharm.
Pegaspargase is a pegylated form of asparaginase, which results in the cleavage of asparagine, an amino acid. Healthy cells are able to synthesize asparagine, while tumor cells of ALL patients are not, becoming dependent on the intake of asparagine from the blood. After the introduction of pegaspargase, the level of asparagine in the blood decreases, tumor cells do not receive it in sufficient quantity and die, with only a little damage to the vital activity of healthy cells. Since 2008, pegaspargase has been a key component of “Moscow – Berlin”, Russia’s main treatment protocol for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common oncological disease in children and adolescents.
