Andrey Kaprin, General Director of the Radiology Medical Research Center under the Russian Ministry of Health, made the revelations on Radio Rossiya, as reported by the Russian news agency TASS.
Alexander Gintsburg, Director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, disclosed that the mRNA-based vaccine had shown positive results in pre-clinical trials, suppressing tumour growth and the potential for metastases.
Gintsburg also highlighted the role of artificial intelligence in expediting the development of personalized cancer vaccines.
He noted that neural networks could reduce the time required to compute personalized mRNA vaccines from a lengthy process to just 30 minutes to an hour.
"Now it takes quite long to build [personalized vaccines] because computing how a vaccine, or customized mRNA, should look like uses matrix methods, in mathematical terms. We have involved the Ivannikov Institute which will rely on Al in doing this math, namely neural network computing where these procedures should take about half an hour to an hour," Russia's vaccine chief said.
Details such as the vaccine's name, the types of cancer it targets, and specifics of the clinical trials have not yet been disclosed.
Russia's announcement comes amid global efforts to advance cancer vaccine technology.
For instance, the UK government has partnered with German company BioNTech to develop personalized cancer treatments, aiming to reach 10,000 patients by 2030.
Similarly, pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck & Co are working on an experimental cancer vaccine for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Preliminary results from a mid-stage study revealed the vaccine reduced the risk of recurrence or death by half after three years of treatment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier hinted at the progress during a February 2024 forum on future technologies in Moscow.
'We have come very close to creating so-called cancer vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs of a new generation,' Putin said, expressing hope for their use in individual therapy soon.
Globally, vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B (HBV) have already demonstrated success in preventing cancers like cervical and liver cancer, respectively.
Russia's efforts represent a new addition to ongoing developments in mRNA-based cancer vaccines.
Russia's previous vaccine projects include the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, which was distributed internationally during the pandemic. However, Sputnik V faced challenges domestically due to vaccine hesitancy.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/russia-says-it-has-developed-free-cancer-vaccine
