In early April, a personalized mRNA vaccine called NeoOncVac was used for the first time in Russian clinical practice to treat melanoma. Vladimir Gushchin, Deputy Director for Research at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, told TASS that the new cancer vaccine for melanoma is administered according to a strictly defined regimen. The course of therapy consists of 10 intramuscular injections of the drug.
According to Gushchin, during the first phase the vaccine is given at one-week intervals. After that, the schedule changes: subsequent injections are administered every 21 days. This regimen was developed based on the drug’s specific effects on the immune system.
On April 1, a 60-year-old resident of the Kursk region with cutaneous melanoma received the NeoOncVac anticancer mRNA vaccine. It was also reported that synthesis of the vaccine for a second patient had begun.
The Ministry of Health granted approval for clinical use at the end of 2025. The vaccine was developed by the National Medical Research Center of Radiology, the Gamaleya Center, and the Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology. The drug is intended for adults with inoperable or metastatic melanoma.
Later, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced that the government had included CAR‑T therapy, a course of treatment with a personalized mRNA vaccine, and a peptide vaccine called Oncopept in the compulsory health insurance (OMS) program. Previously, such technologies were used only in clinical studies or on a commercial basis. The innovation will expand patient access to these treatment methods.
