Rosatom has introduced an import-substituted drug to combat cancer

Russian scientists from Rosatom have developed a domestic drug aimed at combating oncological diseases. Previously, it was produced only in one country, now it will be manufactured in Russia and using domestic raw materials. This was reported on June 15 by a correspondent of Izvestia.

The new drug called Rakurs, which was developed by Rosatom scientists and doctors at the Center for Radiology and Oncology, contains the substance radium-223.

"We have started a joint collaboration on the development and production of new radiopharmaceuticals based on alpha emitters. Our institute probably occupies one of the leading places in terms of the amount of radioisotope produced in our country," said the Deputy Director and Scientific Director of SSC NIIAR (Rosatom).Alexey Izhutov.

It is specified that the new drug is aimed at fighting prostate cancer. Previously, only one German pharmaceutical company produced such medicines, but Russian scientists were able to overcome this obstacle.

"This site was opened in 2022 for import substitution purposes. We decided that we are capable of producing the required quality of the drug ourselves, and in 2022, doctors confirmed that the quality of our drug is no worse than its German counterpart," said a senior researcher at the Department of Radionuclide Sources and Drugs at the SSC NIIAR (Rosatom) Pavel Butkalyuk.

According to the Izvestia correspondent, the domestic raw materials from which the substances are obtained are taken from the SM-3 research nuclear reactor, which was inherited from the USSR. This reactor produces unique radioactive isotopes, including californium-252, which is used to launch nuclear installations.

According to the head of the Federal Scientific and Clinical Center for Medical Radiology and Oncology (FNCCIO) of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency (FMBA) Petra Sycheva, a new drug can help cancer patients go into remission. In addition, this medicine should reduce pain and improve the quality of life.

"It accumulates precisely in bone tissue according to the metabolic activity of this bone tissue and indirectly affects cells. Patients who have received all lines of chemotherapy can expect to have a good stable remission and a reduction in pain, as well as an improvement in their quality of life," he stressed.

It is added that the development of other drugs in this direction continues. It is planned to create another one, which will include thorium-227. According to doctors, this medicine will be able to target the tumor, and will be designed for different types of cancer.

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On February 11, Andrey Kaprin, Director General of the National Medical Research Center for Radiology and chief freelance oncologist at the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, said that in Russia the age of cancer does not follow the "rejuvenation" trend, and the average age of cancer detection is at least 65 years.