The mRNA-based drugs factory at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology has produced its first three test batches of a cancer vaccine, according to the center’s head, Aleksandr Gintsburg.
“Funds were allocated for the construction of an mRNA vaccine factory at the Gamaleya Institute. The factory has not only been built but fully equipped and has released its first three validation series. Most importantly, our Herzen Oncology Center has received the complete package of regulatory permits for the technology — from diagnosis to the production of mRNA and its use in humans,” Gintsburg said at a conference at the Ivannikov Institute for System Programming of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In late November, the Russian Ministry of Health granted approvals for the clinical use of two personalized biotechnological drugs: a peptide vaccine and an mRNA-based vaccine. The Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) received the right to use the peptide vaccine Oncopept for colorectal cancer, with production to be handled by the Scientific and Clinical Center for Physical and Chemical Medicine. The antitumor mRNA vaccine NeoOnkovac was approved for use by the Radiology Center and the Gamaleya Center.
“Personalized mRNA vaccines are a new generation of biotechnological drugs created based on the individual genetic profile of a specific patient’s tumor. Their task is to ‘teach’ the immune system to recognize tumor cells and target them for destruction,” stated Andrey Kaprin, chief freelance oncologist of the Ministry of Health and head of the Radiology Center.
