The creation of a preclinical research center at the Siberian State Medical University (SibSMU) has begun in Tomsk. The site will be the only such center in the region that complies with the GLP state standard, Yevgeny Kulikov, the rector of the university, said at a meeting in the Tomsk Region Administration on Monday. It is planned that the modernization will be completed within one to three years.
“Within the framework of Priority-2030, we place great emphasis on the strategic project Targeted Theranostics. The project aims at providing and developing domestic technologies in drug development. Very soon, we will be ready to open a world-class laboratory of cellular and microfluidic technologies,” Kulikov said at the meeting.
The Rector explained that the laboratory will develop, among others, a drug delivery system based on microcapsular, microfluidic, and scaffold technologies. “The laboratory will solve very advanced tasks,” he said. As the university’s press service explained, the task of the project is to create conditions and infrastructure for a full cycle of drug development, “from idea to clinic”.
“We propose to consider the project of creating an engineering center for pharmaceutical development in order to make the process of drug development and introduction into practice more efficient. The project is currently designed for a production area of about 2000 square meters, which will create at least 50 new jobs. The total project financing is about 2 billion rubles,” Kulikov said.
He noted that the best-case scenario is the construction of a separate building, but currently the option of modular planning of clean rooms in existing industrial facilities is being worked out, which will significantly reduce the time of project implementation and reduce the cost of production. According to him, the “starting portfolio” of projects has already been developed and includes more than 15 drugs.
The press service added that the program of activities of the engineering center includes tasks for the production of import-substituting pharmaceutical substances and original medicines, and for the development of pharmaceutical technologies. Among the significant results is the development of unique educational programs in the field of translational medicine.
“We do not have one key industrial partner, because we solve problems for the entire industry, and we can be useful for it at different stages, on different products, and with different drugs,” Kulikov said at the meeting, mentioning that they are currently looking for sources of funding.
