Russian cancer vaccine release timeline revealed

Russian scientists are finalizing work on a new, groundbreaking cancer vaccine due to be released next year, according to Alexander Gintsburg, the head of the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

The Gamaleya Center created the Sputnik V Covid-19 inoculation in August 2020, one of the first to be developed in the world.

Gintsburg made the remarks in an interview with RT’s Roman Kosarev on Tuesday, linking the cancer drug breakthrough to the rapid development of Covid vaccination methods. Seven patents have already been treated, he said, adding that the technology was fully domestically developed.

Work on the new vaccine was a multi-stage process. It started around the middle of 2022 when researchers realized that the mRNA technology underlying many Covid vaccines held great promise, according to Gintsburg.

The new drug is a therapeutic vaccine to be administered to those already diagnosed with cancer, the Gamaleya chief said. It causes the patient’s immune system to start destroying malignant cells. The shot enables Cytotoxic lymphocytes, or white blood cells, that appear in the body of a vaccinated person to recognize foreign proteins (antigens) on the surface of tumor cells. Cytotoxic lymphocytes then find foreign, metastasizing cells and destroy them throughout the body.

“This technology also offers a significant advantage as it enables the production of a very high concentration of the target protein required to activate the immune system, even exceeding the levels needed to train the immune system to distinguish between self and foreign proteins,” he said.

The new vaccine is a truly personalized product, according to Gintsburg, who explained that individual drugs will be created for every patient because no two tumors are alike.

The researchers demonstrated its effectiveness in treating mice using an animal model of melanoma.

Currently, they are developing models for treating other oncological diseases, including non-small-cell lung cancer, which reportedly is the most frequently diagnosed cancer with the highest mortality rate. This type does not respond well to the existing treatment methods in oncology, such as surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.

“That’s why we are now creating such a model,” Gintsburg said.

Other models for oncological diseases will also be developed, including for pancreatic cancer and certain types of kidney cancer.

Speaking about the new vaccine’s release date, the Gamaleya chief said that by around September 2025 work will begin at the Hertsen Oncological Research Institute and the Blokhin Cancer Center to introduce the treatment for real world patients.

In the initial stages, the jab will be tested and its effectiveness demonstrated on a limited group of people.

“Once this technology is registered by the ministry of health, I hope it will expand rapidly and be implemented in other medical treatment centers across our country,” Gintsburg concluded.