Russia’s President Vladimir Putin believes it is possible to allow the use of advanced therapy drugs for patients for whom there are no alternative treatment methods.
During Putin’s meeting with participants of the 2nd Congress of Young Scientists, Andrey Brovin, a junior researcher in Gene Therapy at the Sirius University Research Center for Translational Medicine, asked the head of state to order the development of regulatory documents authorizing the use of advanced therapy drugs for patients who do not have any other treatment methods available.
“Are we talking about an experimental legal regime? At first glance, it seems to me that this should be done. Of course, I cannot make a final decision right now,” Putin was quoted as saying by TASS.
According to the young scientist, he is developing methods of delivering large genes for the treatment of multiple variants of hereditary blindness. According to Brovin, the current Russian legislation permits the use only of drugs made of industrially produced substances. This is not practical for genetic mutations which are nearly unique.
“I don’t understand why there should be restrictions demanding mass industrial production if mass production is not feasible in a particular case. If this concerns isolated cases, then of course. The number of people suffering from such diseases is very little,” the president said.
Vladimir Putin promised to talk about this with Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. “I hope she will support the idea,” he concluded.
Putin earlier said that the creation of individualized medicines means a transition to the medicine of the future.