Why breakthrough biomedicine technologies remain in laboratories
Cut the genome
Nikita Zaikov, Rossiyskaya Gazeta
Thanks to stem cell transplantation, dozens of diseases are already being treated in the world. However, in Russia, cellular medicine remains almost at the level of fiction. What are the reasons for Russia's lag in the field of biotechnology? Why is it that what is possible in scientific research is not implemented in broad practice?These issues were discussed in Novosibirsk by leading experts of scientific institutes.
According to the general opinion of the participants of the "brainstorming", there is a groundwork for the development of biomedicine in Russia: scientific personnel and effective research. But, paradoxically, the most serious obstacle is the lack of production of elementary things. We are not even talking about complex equipment – almost all of it is purchased abroad, and we have to put up with this. But why is Russia not producing at least special laboratory "dishes" for biotechnologists? Director of the Institute of Fundamental and Clinical Immunology SB RAMS Vladimir Kozlov called this situation nonsense:
– The cost of preparing a cellular vaccine is about 2.5 – 3 thousand dollars. Approximately 60 percent of this amount goes to the purchase of foreign reagents and tableware. You need to create your own production.
According to the scientist, it is the cellular vaccine that will become the main tool against previously incurable diseases. It's not only about oncology, but also cerebral palsy in children, coronary heart disease, post-stroke conditions, allergic reactions and much more. In Novosibirsk, there are already developments and personnel in order to create a cell center. This would help to cope with some diseases right now.
The center could process donor cells, develop and test vaccines. However, there are no funds to create such a center yet. Another aspect is that cellular medicine of the future should be personalized. Experts say: it is necessary to create a bank of cells in order to be able to fight the disease point-by-point. If we take into account the uniqueness of a person, the characteristics of his body and the difference in the influence of various diseases on him, then it can be billions of variations of cell therapy. Creating the most complete cellular library is the way to "serial" treatment of diseases. Such problems cannot be solved singly, Nariman Salakhutdinov, head of the Department of Medical Chemistry at the Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Research Institute of Organic Chemistry SB RAS, is sure. He quoted the words of Nobel Prize-winning geneticist Phillip Sharp, who claims that the next revolution in medicine will be the revolution of convergence, interpenetration. That is, only the interaction of chemists, biologists, molecular biologists, and physicians in one direction can guarantee success. This is a much more complex approach to biomedical technologies. But at the same time, the result can be incredible. Salakhutdinov cited as an example one of the newest foreign medicinal developments against hepatitis C.
– The successful formula of the drug and the huge sales market led to the fact that over the past year sales of the drug increased 130 times. Financial revenue reached $9.3 billion, which is comparable to Russia's defense budget in recent years. Imagine tanks, ships, military bases, design bureaus – and a single drug. In order to truly develop biomedicine, it is necessary to take into account the conjuncture, study the world market, and the needs for medicines.
MeanwhileWorking with the human genome has become one of the most promising areas of biomedicine.
Especially in the fight against hereditary diseases. According to Sergey Medvedev, a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Epigenetics of Development of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the SB RAS, the demand for certain types of treatment for a particular genetic disease may not be so great. However, in general, this direction will allow solving a whole layer of not only medical, but also social issues.
– Now about six thousand hereditary diseases are known, – Medvedev notes. – Doctors face seriously ill people who cannot be offered treatment. And the study of diseases at the cellular level will help to cope with this problem. There is already a genome editing technology that has been mastered in Novosibirsk. In fact, we are talking about the possibility of cutting the genome, adding a chromosome to it, or correcting it, thus curing the mutation. Such technologies are the future. But it's probably too early to talk about this, because there is no way to establish even the production of laboratory utensils yet.
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21.08.2015