Russia to use domestically developed cancer vaccine in 2025

Moscow, December 21, 2024 (TV BRICS) – A cancer treatment developed by Russian specialists will be provided free of charge to citizens of the country. This was announced by Andrey Kaprin, Chief Oncologist of the Russian Ministry of Health and an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The use of the vaccine on patients is scheduled for early 2025. According to Kaprin, cancer treatment drugs are typically expensive when they enter the market, but this vaccine is intended to be accessible to the entire population.

The technology behind the drug is based on cell therapy. As reported, a specific sequence of messenger RNA is introduced into the body, prompting cells to synthesise a protein. The immune system identifies this protein as foreign and produces antibodies to combat it. In the context of cancer treatment, this mechanism is modified to enable the immune system to recognise and destroy cancer cells.

The drug is referred to as a “vaccine” because it is developed from weakened tumour cells. According to Aleksander Gintsburg, Director of the Gamaleya National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, the drug suppresses tumour growth and the potential for metastasis.

Preclinical trials were completed in September. Artificial intelligence plays a significant role in the development of personalised vaccines: a neural network analyses tumour parameters and generates a “blueprint” for its creation.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the development of a Russian cancer vaccine as a breakthrough during a meeting with Veronika Skvortsova, head of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia. Skvortsova noted that when the drug was administered to animals, tumour size was reduced by 80 per cent.