Course for treatment: Latin America wants a Russian cancer vaccine

Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia are interested in a Russian cancer vaccine, Alexander Gintsburg, director of the N.F. Gamalei National Research Center, told Izvestia. At the same time, in order to start production of the drug abroad, it is necessary to provide conditions for technology transfer. Russia and Vietnam have made the most progress in this area, the Russian Direct Investment Fund told Izvestia. At the end of May, Moscow prepared a memorandum of cooperation with the local vaccine center. In addition, the agency is in contact with colleagues from Latin American countries, as well as Serbia and Kazakhstan, on this issue.

Which countries are interested in the Russian cancer vaccine

The Russian cancer vaccine is still under development, but a number of countries have already expressed interest in it. It should be recalled that at the end of May, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation held a meeting with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on the topic of joint development in the field of healthcare. And at the end of June, Paraguay's ambassador to Russia announced that his country was interested in negotiating a cancer vaccine if its effectiveness was confirmed. The Sirius University of Science and Technology and the N.F. Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology are working on it together with the largest Russian cancer centers.

"Besides Paraguay, I also received letters from the embassies of Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia," Alexander Ginzburg, director of the N.F. Gamalei National Research Center, told Izvestia.

The center redirects letters with proposals to the Ministry of Health, as well as to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which deals, in particular, with the registration of drugs and their promotion to foreign markets. Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Health, as well as to the agency. When asked which countries are being considered for cooperation in the first place, the RDIF representative replied that there are no preferences in this regard: "We are absolutely open to working with other countries."

Earlier, Ginzburg reported that the first patients will be able to receive cancer vaccine treatment as early as September 2025. It is important to note that the Russian cancer vaccine is being developed based on individual genetic data. In this regard, it is impossible for her to conduct clinical trials, since in this case there is no registration of the final product, but of the technology by which it is created in a particular medical institution, Ginzburg clarified to Izvestia.

— To do this, we are making model systems for all cancers for which we are testing individual drugs. All the regulations are new and are being done right before our eyes, from the wheels, as they say," he said.

How to localize the production of a cancer vaccine

As for the organization of vaccine production "on the stream", everything is much simpler with this. This issue is more related to economics and diplomacy than to medicine.

— This task is not super difficult. All technical documentation is provided to the partners, and everything is organized with the help of our specialists. We need standard equipment, which is mostly manufactured outside of Russia. These are many different devices, for example, for suspension cells, for growing cell cultures, and others. They are created in different countries of the world, and they can be purchased there," virologist Anatoly Altstein explained to Izvestia.

Previously, Russia bought some medical equipment from the United States, which has always had a good reputation. Now the import had to be reoriented, but there are nuances.

"Some of the equipment is made in our country, while others are made in a friendly country, but the prices there are not very friendly," Ginzburg said. "Our government, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Industry are also resolving this issue.

Currently, the most advanced country with which cooperation is expected is Vietnam. There is a domestic pharmaceutical industry with full provision of vaccines within the framework of the national vaccination calendar, which is no less than the Russian one and approaches the Western European and American ones in some positions. In this regard, Alexander Ginzburg does not rule out that as a result of cooperation, Vietnam will be able to focus on those types of cancer that it is primarily interested in. These include cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. Russia, in turn, will focus on melanoma cancer this year. And if successful, they will continue to work on the treatment of non-small cell and small cell lung cancer.

Thus, the countries will exchange advanced information in order to further purposefully create vaccines against numerous types of cancer, of which there are about 300 today, Ginzburg noted.

— Vietnam is most actively developing towards us in terms of transfers, — commented the representative of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

It should be recalled that at the end of May, Russia prepared a memorandum of cooperation with the Vietnam Vaccine Center, which resulted in the formation of an association of pharmaceutical distributors. According to Alexander Ginzburg, this agreement allows for the transfer of relevant materials through the RDIF so that the Vietnamese side can get acquainted in detail with domestic developments to solve logistical issues.

International cooperation after COVID-19

The Russian Direct Investment Fund has loudly declared itself in the public field during the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to the efforts of the foundation, the domestic Sputnik V from COVID-19 was delivered from Russia to 170 countries. The cancer vaccine being developed is based on mRNA technologies, on which Sputnik V was built. Despite the fact that the pandemic is a thing of the past, ties with partners are still strong.

—All those countries that previously participated in the organization of the technological transfer for the purchase of the Sputnik V vaccine express their interest in further cooperation with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the N.F. Gamalei Center itself," commented a representative of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

So, in addition to Vietnam, Russia is in quite active communication with colleagues from Serbia, Kazakhstan and Latin American countries, including Cuba and Nicaragua, which are actually the entrance countries of the market in this region, he added. The RDIF expects that these countries, as well as the BRICS members, will help fill the gaps in the market that have formed as a result of the departure of foreign manufacturers.