Russia prepares personalized and experimental cancer vaccine

Moscow. – The first patients could begin receiving treatment with a personalized cancer vaccine developed in Russia in the coming months, according to Alexander Gintsburg, director of the Gamaleya National Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

"According to the current plan, agreed with the Ministry of Health, we should begin administering a cancer vaccine based on neoantigens to a group of melanoma patients experimentally in the coming months," Guintsburg told the RIA Novosti agency. The project will be jointly executed by the Guerzen Oncology Research Institute of Moscow and the Blokhin National Medical Oncology Research Center, while the Gamaleya center will be in charge of the production of the drug. Guinzburg explained that the cancer vaccine is designed using unique genetic data from each patient, making it an exclusive and non-transferable treatment.

“The medication is created based on the personal genetic data of a specific patient and can only be used on that person and no one else,” he clarified.

To facilitate its implementation, the Russian government issued a special decree at the beginning of the year that establishes unprecedented regulations for this type of personalized therapy. "However, we found a common language, a common denominator, and we moved forward," added the researcher. The Gamaleya cancer vaccine uses an innovative mRNA platform that trains the immune system to identify and destroy tumor cells without causing inflammation. Its goal is to eliminate both the tumor and metastatic cells, offering a less aggressive alternative to other oncological treatments.

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The progress has sparked international interest. According to Guintsburg, "other countries are writing us letters about it."

Two fronts of the fight against cancer in Russia

Russia is working on two main lines in the development of cancer vaccines: oncolytic virotherapy and the use of mRNA technology. In parallel with the Gamaleya initiative, the Ministry of Health initiated in June the first clinical trials of another cancer vaccine called EnteroMix, developed by the National Medical Radiological Research Center. This is based on enteroviruses, capable of destroying malignant cells. According to experts, 2025 could mark a turning point in the global fight against cancer, and Russian efforts could play a key role in that process.