Russia claims to have developed cancer vaccine, to be free for all from 2025
Preclinical tests have already been completed
Russia claims to have developed its own mRNA-based vaccine to treat cancer, which will be available for free to patients from early 2025, according to state news agency TASS.
Andrey Kaprin, head of the Radiology Medical Research Centre of the Ministry of Health, said it will cost the state 300,000 rubles ($2,869) per dose of the vaccine.
The vaccine was developed in collaboration with several research centers. Preclinical tests have already been completed, Kaprin added.
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Earlier, Director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Alexander Gintsburg told TASS that the vaccine's preclinical trials had shown that it suppresses tumor development and potential metastases.
According to Gintsberg, use of artificial neural networks could bring down the duration of computing required to create a personalised cancer vaccine. The current process is lengthy and using AI could cut this time to "less than an hour", he told TASS.
"Now it takes quite long to build [personalized vaccines] because computing of 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 AI in doing this math, namely neural network computing where these procedures should take about half an hour to an hour," Gintsberg said.
The researcher explained to TASS that an experimental base of sequences of between 40,000 to 50,000 tumors with identification of antigen compatibilities that are converted into protein or RNA in a patient will be needed to train AI. This would help determine whether or not this combination can be used for the individual, he said.
