Russian Medicine at the Front & in the Lab

Meeting with the head of the FMBA Veronika Skvortsova

Head of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency Veronika Skvortsova.

The SMO had a major impetus to Russia’s medical system outside of the Ministry of Defense’s capabilities, while the R&D situation that was greatly expanded to deal with Covid is producing world leading results in areas that are specific to the Russian populace that are capable of being tailored to other regions. One of Russia’s national projects is the fight against cancer, which has been reported on here before, and is now producing results not seen anywhere else. Also of major importance is the development of anti-allergen medicines to deal with the very specific pollens Russians are attacked by. But those or only two of many points that are revealed in this progress report to Putin.

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon!

Where do we start, Veronika Igorevna?

V. : If possible, Mr President, with the participation of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency in a special military operation.

From the first days of the start of the special military operation, FMBA units-consolidated mobile medical units-began work to eliminate the medical and sanitary consequences of military operations in the Donetsk People's Republic, in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, and sabotage attacks in the Belgorod region, in the Crimea, and emergency situations.

The first months of our work showed the need for a significant modernization of the mobile medical care system and the creation of a new special-purpose medicine for the agency.

A separate department and special units were created, which included rapid response teams for radiation, chemical and biological reconnaissance, identification of harmful factors and protection, as well as mobile medical detachments consisting of experienced specialists who provide specialized medical care, including high-tech, in combat conditions, including surgical intervention, and resuscitation measures.

In order to work effectively, the motor transport was completely modernized, medical specialized technical means for radiological, toxicological and biological reconnaissance vehicles were created, fully equipped with new modern portable digital equipment developed by the center of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency. These devices operate in a single information system in real time.

It is important to note that armored ambulances have appeared, as well as an ambulance with special anti-splinter protection based on high-density polyethylene and kevlar. These multi-layered layers, which we use to cover vehicles and create stretchers for the wounded, which allows them to safely evacuate, were created in the experimental workshops of the FMBA. They can withstand the damaging elements of an explosion up to 110 grams of TNT equivalent. As well as cars on the KAMAZ chassis, which have integrated operating rooms and intensive care units, which actually provide the necessary surgical and resuscitation assistance during transportation and in the field.

Our units work in coordination with the Ministry of Defense in direct conjunction with the medical units of the Ministry of Defense and have absolutely justified themselves. So, for example, on the night of August 7, in fact, on the day when the enemy attacked the border areas of the Kursk region, we literally moved a group of 200 people to the base of our medical unit in Kurchatov, 180 highly qualified specialists, 68 surgeons of various profiles and resuscitators, radiation, chemical and biological protection teams, etc. appropriate transport, including armored vehicles, which allowed our unit to transport the wounded or wounded directly from the combat zone.

In the first weeks, 300-400 wounded soldiers were treated per day and up to 60 operations were performed per day in six parallel operating rooms. To date, more than 5,5 thousand people have received medical assistance in the Kursk region, more than three thousand have been operated on, and more than two thousand have been evacuated. In other words, we created a mobile hospital with 118 beds, which was the closest – 35 kilometers from the border areas where the fighting took place.

In general, our detachments continue to carry out their tasks in five areas and work in close cooperation with the Ministry of Defense. In total, more than 125 thousand people have already received medical assistance, including 77 thousand military personnel.

Inpatient specialized care is provided in 17 medical centers of the FMBA, including the center that you opened at the end of the year in Mariupol. The center has been operational since January.

Vladimir Putin: It's a beautiful center, a good one.

V. Skvortsova: It is a wonderful center, and it is very much in demand, and more than 41,000 people have already been helped on its basis: both civilians and military personnel. And more than 2.5 thousand wounded were surgically treated.

At the Sports Council, I briefly discussed the comprehensive system of rehabilitation and rehabilitation treatment for military personnel, which is carried out in our 69 organizations of the agency.

I would like to note that in October 2023, together with the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, we actually piloted individual prosthetics for wounded people who lost limbs into a continuous rehabilitation cycle. And prosthetics were performed at the patient's bedside. This experience has been so positive, it has increased the efficiency of recovery and shortened the period of re-socialization so much that this year we have already decided to scale it up and in less than six months we have created a new center in the Moscow region – combined prosthetics and rehabilitation, which opens in January 25-both the production of individual prostheses and a comprehensive rehabilitation center.

Last year, we also opened a medical and psychological support center for the task that the special military operation required of us, first of all. It turned out to be very popular. Specialists of this center provide both emergency assistance and long-term support for both military personnel and family members. And more importantly, they train specialists. 92 specialists were trained during the year for hospitals of the Ministry of Defense and for the branch of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation. And these same specialists go to the regions and regional divisions at the request of the foundation and provide assistance, conduct master classes, and so on.

An important component, please also take into account, is, of course, the need to increase blood supplies and blood components. Since the FMBA is the national coordinator and operator of the blood service, we now fully meet all the needs of the country, including the Ministry of Defense and all other military units. Procurement of whole blood was increased by 49 percent, and plasma and other components were increased by 34 percent.

It is important to note that since 2022, we have more than doubled the strategic reserve of blood and blood components, which guarantees protection in any emergency situations of any scale. And on your instructions, in order to ensure the country's self-sufficiency in blood-derived products, starting from 2021, we have increased the production of plasma by 20 times: from 30 thousand liters to 600 thousand liters this year.

Vladimir Putin: By 20 times, it looks serious.

V. Skvortsova: Yes. This is the amount that allows you to produce completely all the basic drugs: albumins and immunoglobulins. Of course, we managed to do all this thanks to the development of the donor movement. The number of donors increased by 30 percent.

It is important to note that 99 percent of Russian donors donate blood free of charge, out of charity and spiritual support of their compatriots, and 81 percent of them donate again. Therefore, it was donation that formed the basis for all the transformations and the increase in reserves.

I would also like to note that on your instructions, the Federal Register of Bone Marrow and Hematopoietic Cell Donors was created and launched on September 1, 2022. It was created from a merge of 11 local registers. At the time of their creation, there were 112 thousand potential donors who gathered for ten years.

Vladimir Putin: Four times more?

V. Skvortsova: Yes, it has increased four times in two years, the efficiency of searching for unrelated donors has increased-now it is already 78 percent, and the number of unrelated transplants has increased. We set ourselves the goal of reaching 500,000 next year, which will allow at least 90 percent of Russians to be provided with unrelated donors from those who need them. At the same time, we still have all the contacts with international databases, we are actively used, and there is a search option here.

Mr President, I would like to report on a very important area for the agency, which is our most important authority – scientific developments and innovative products in the field of biotechnologies.

In recent years, we have managed to create a powerful scientific cluster of 35 research centers, including eight strategic Federal State Unitary Enterprises, which allows us to conduct development from the idea and from fundamental blocks to prototypes, their research, transfer to production and already practical, respectively, implementation.

The second point that we managed to do is to deploy standardized technology platforms based on the most high-tech technologies based on these centers. Thus, certain biotechnological components can be rapidly assembled as if by stencils, according to established algorithms, if they have a single structure and mechanisms of action.

These two actions – creating a cluster and creating technology platforms-allowed us to speed up the innovation chain several times and significantly increase the efficiency of development. As a result, over four years – from 2020 to 2024 – more than 100 products, medicines, test systems, and medical devices were not just developed, but they were fully tested and put into practice, all registered.

Vladimir Putin: Is cancer immunotherapy feasible?

V. Skvortsova: Yes, I would like to say a few words now.

If you look at slide number three, Mr President, of course, we pay great attention to developments in the interests of our military personnel. After 2022, new antidotes against toxic substances, new dosage forms of radioprotectors and drugs that weaken the effect of ionizing radiation, effective hemostatic agents and other emergency medical care products were developed and implemented, which were formed in the updated package for the RCBZ troops, as well as for other units of the Ministry of Defense and other law enforcement agencies.

At the same time, a whole line of automated biohazard alarms and detector devices was created that detect all the main types of dangerous and especially dangerous infections, including in the field and with operators without special training. That is, they are so well thought out that you actually need to lower the material into a certain test tube, insert it into the device, and the device gives the result. In addition, complexes of special test systems for self-diagnosis and mutual diagnostics for fighters for all types of particularly dangerous infections. All this has been created and is now being used in our military units.

In addition, over the past three years, domestic devices for blood transfusion, plasmapheresis, and sorting of shaped blood elements have been created. They are portable, digital, and remotely controlled via Wi-Fi. Lyophilized dry plasma preparations have been developed, which are preserved at all temperatures and can be easily transported. Universal plasma does not require knowledge of the blood type. In the event that it is difficult to do this in combat conditions, it allows, accordingly, to introduce it to any fighter.

I would like to focus on our most significant developments, which are recognized in the world and protected intellectually as the property of the Russian Federation. If possible, I'll start with the Convacel recombinant protein vaccine against COVID-19. This is the world's first universal panvaccine, the effectiveness of which does not depend on mutation of the surface S-protein. In 2022, this vaccine was registered but received a permanent registration certificate this year after the completion of large-scale studies of the third phase. These studies have shown extremely high efficacy of the vaccine – in the general population more than 85 percent, in a double-blind placebo-controlled study, in older age groups-more than 92 percent.

It is important to note that among those who are vaccinated, this is already millions of people, no more than one percent gets sick. The results of these studies were published in the world's leading journal, the Journal of Infections. Currently, this drug is used not only in our country, but also purchased in Nicaragua and for the interests of certain countries in Central and Latin America.

An absolutely innovative drug is a combined allergovaccine developed by the Institute of Immunology of the FMBA. The vaccine contains two protein fragments of birch pollen antigen and cross-food antigens containing fruit seeds.

This vaccine in experiments – experiments went on for quite a long time – showed not only its safety, absence of toxicity, good tolerability, but also very high preventive effectiveness.

Clinical trials are currently underway. Efficiency results will be available after the first birch dusting season, i.e. from April to June.

Vladimir Putin: Next spring, yes?

V. Skvortsova: Yes, by the end of June we will already know the results of efficiency. According to all the data from previous experiments, this is an absolutely working, highly effective vaccine that has no analogues in the world. All the results of all stages of her research were published in Allergy, the world's leading journal of immunology. So the whole world is watching this research right now.

I would also like to note that over the years, Russia has been buying polysaccharide conjugated vaccines against bacterial infections – pneumococcus, meningococcus, and hemophilic infection – for a huge amount of money – 55 billion rubles in three years. We didn't have our own technology platform for creating these vaccines. On the basis of the St. Petersburg Institute of Vaccines and Sera, this technology is fully developed: from the antigen to the finished product.

It is important to note that in parallel, our St. Petersburg Institute of Infectious Diseases identifies the most important serotypes and strains for Russians, which allows us to make unique vaccines that take into account those serotypes that are important in our country.

The first vaccine against hemophilic infection B, this infection is in the national vaccination calendar, it has completely passed all studies, registered, and this year it has already entered the market.

The 16-valent pneumococcal vaccine with three unique Russian strains is currently undergoing clinical trials. We hope to register at the end of next year.

And the meningococcal vaccine, the uniqueness of which lies in the fact that this vaccine is the first in the world to contain serotype B. This is more than 30 percent of our infected children. But in the world, accordingly, they could not conjugate this serotype, attach it to the other four serotypes. We managed to do this with Russian know-how. Preclinical studies are fully completed. And we are entering clinical trials, and this vaccine will also be used no later than the beginning of 2027.

Vladimir Putin: When can the allergy vaccine be used?

V. Skvortsova: Against allergies: if there are good results in the summer, we will report them immediately, then we hope to get a permit and registration at the end of next year, 2025.

Vladimir Putin: Millions of people in our country suffer from this pollinosis.

V. Skvortsova: Yes. And there are a lot of people who want to use this vaccine abroad. I don't think we will be able to produce it at the FMBA facilities on our own.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.

V. Skvortsova: We have found a production partner in Generium. We have already made a full transfer, accumulated the necessary amount for conducting clinical trials.

If possible, very briefly about oncovaccines, just two words.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course. It is interesting.

V. Skvortsova: The whole world is working on creating personalized medicines based on the biological codes of a particular person, including a personalized cancer vaccine.

A cluster of four of our centers, led by the Center for Physical and Chemical Medicine, has developed a technology for verifying mutations that caused a tumor in a particular person, isolating neoantigens that are recognized by the human immune system. And inside these antigens, the release of those peptide fragments that are just a signal for the immune system of a particular person.

The second technology is the synthesis of these selected peptides, which turns on the immune system, directs it to the tumor.

And the third point is the creation of the vaccines themselves, for which these peptides are the active ingredient. I had to make several vaccines on different platforms, on different carriers. These are peptides on nanoparticles, peptides in the framework of a vector vaccine, on an adeno-associated virus, and mRNA vaccines.

Why is this important? Because the dynamics of turning on the immune system are completely different, and for each person: one needs a quick response, just as short, and for another we need to turn on this response in a week, in two, so that it lasts for three years. These are different approaches, as well as different choices of antigens.

As a result, in the experiment with the most malignant intestinal adenocarcinoma in animals, we found not only a sharp slowdown in the development of the tumor when the vaccine is administered, but in the event that the tumor already exists, a reduction in its volume by 75-80 percent and the survival of animals, that is, animals do not die from this tumor, they continue to live, and control it.

We have actually completed a three-year cycle of research on this vaccine. Thanks to the fact that the law on the use of personalized medicines was adopted this year, we hope to start using it in patients as early as next year. At the same time, we conduct research for other localizations of oncological diseases. Here's number two, number three: it's melanoma, skin cancer, and a brain malignancy called glioblastoma.

And the last thing, Mr Putin: I mentioned mRNA vaccines, we have made a real breakthrough, we are now the first in the world in this area, we have created a unique platform for creating mRNA vaccines. These are vaccines that do not carry the antigen itself, but the nucleotide code. It enters the cell, and the cell itself generates a protein based on this code – the one that is needed.

A platform has been created that makes it possible to self-assemble lipid nanoparticles with a diameter of 200 nanometers and immerse mRNA with the existing biological code inside this particle, and, accordingly, "anchor" special components that provide biocompatibility, stability of this particle, rapid penetration into the cell, and other features.

As a result of these few know-how of our scientists, we have a significant advantage in a comparative study over the world's well – known analogues-Moderna and Pfizer, the two companies that produce these vaccines. First, this vaccine exceeds Pfizer by 65 percent and Moderna by 90 percent in terms of the efficiency of protein production from the code that is introduced, and these are highly reliable things.

The second point. The whole world criticized these two vaccines after the COVID pandemic for causing a huge number of side effects, polysystemic.

Vladimir Putin: Do you mean Moderna and Pfizer?

V. Skvortsova: Moderna and Pfizer. Yes, mRNA vaccines.

We were able to modify the administration of this mRNA vaccine in such a way with the help of special biotechnological techniques that we actually nullified the side effects. That is, the vaccine acts only at the injection site, appears immediately in the immune cells of the blood and produces its effect without affecting other organs and systems.

This platform was just the basis for the cancer vaccine. When administered to an animal, it reduced the size of the tumor by more than 80 percent.

Vladimir Putin: How much longer is the work planned before this can be applied? Approximately?

V. Skvortsova: I think that in order to ensure full security, guaranteed, we probably need about another year to double-check everything, each component separately and all together.

Vladimir Putin: It will still be a breakthrough.

V. Skvortsova: We are very hopeful.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. [My Emphasis]

The importance of being ready to deal with Biowarfare and Chemical agents was stressed at the top since Biowarfare agents remain a very big worry for Russia and the world beyond. The construction of not just ambulances but mobile operating rooms are one big factor in Russia’s very high casualty survival rate as well as the very large inventory of blood products.

The profit-free motivation of Russia’s medical system shows its superiority to For-Profit Western Pharma. Research is all done by the state, yet the products produced retain their public nature when administered—you won’t need to be rich to afford the upcoming breakthrough immunotherapy anticancer drugs. The same goes for veteran medical treatment and associated services for their families. The differing emphases of Russia’s medical care system versus that of the West is massive—Russia’s system is a national asset while the for-profit Western systems are economic overheads—liabilities, not assets—that reduce GDP: 16% and growing here in the Outlaw US Empire.

That Russian research is welcomed for publication by international specialist journals demonstrates very well the degree of Russia’s isolation. IMO, the level of concern Putin has for human life is reflected in the great amount of emphasis he’s had his team place on the national medical system and all its components. All of that’s been made possible by Russia’s development, particularly in the area of technological sovereignty where it can now produce the specialized diagnostic equipment required for treatment that the West sanctioned. IMO, the vastly different valuation placed on human life between the West and Russia can easily be seen on the SMO battlefield where the preservation versus wastage of forces is so clearly seen.

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