Acrus BioMed, a resident company of the Technopolis Moscow Special Economic Zone (SEZ), became Russia’s first company in Russia to produce samples of high-tech cell therapies for clinical trials. There are currently trials of three therapies that involve engineering a patient’s own cells for the treatment of spinal cord injuries, joint damage, and critical burns. These are the first trials of this type in Russia, according to the Moscow City Hall press service.
«Moscow SEZ is actively developing biotechnology, with more than 20 enterprises working on innovative solutions in this area. The SEZ has signed 8 offset contracts with the city for the production of innovative medicines. One of the residents, specializing in the creation of drugs based on human somatic cells, has started producing samples for clinical research in the interests of three developers, which are the country’s leading biomedical research centers», — said Maxim Liksutov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Transport and Industry.
He believes this is an important stage in the development of high-tech therapies in Russia, including tissue engineering, a breakthrough area of personalized regenerative medicine.
Liksutov explained that currently only a few enterprises have licenses for the production of high-tech medicines. They are planned to be used for the treatment of critical burns, bedsores, trophic ulcers, diabetic foot, chronic wounds, musculoskeletal disorders, damage to the nervous system, and cancer.
In 2024, Acrus Biomed became the first Moscow company to receive a license from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which entitled it to produce high-tech therapies for clinical trials. This is expected to help domestic developers of cell therapies, including tissue engineering drugs, to create samples of their products for all phases of trials at the resident’s facilities.
In addition, the company is preparing to release samples of biological and dermal skin equivalents based on the developments of the N. K. Koltsov Institute of Developmental Biology, which expects a permit for trials from the Ministry of Health to be granted soon. The artificially grown skin will be supplied to clinics, with a production capacity of up to 70,000 units per year. Investments in the project amount to more than 470 million rubles.
In 2024, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced that a powerful pharmaceutical cluster under development in Moscow would contribute to the enhancement of the capital’s healthcare system and the national Health Care project. He noted that there are over 300 manufacturers of medicines, medical devices and equipment in the city. Technopolis Moscow SEZ has become one of the main sites for pharmaceutical enterprises. The total area of pharmaceutical and medical companies that have their production facilities here is over 300,000 square meters.
