Alexander Gintsburg, Scientific Director of the Gamaleya Research Institute, has claimed that the Russian-developed cancer vaccine ‘NeoOncoVax’ has yielded positive and promising results upon its first administration.
The first patient to receive the vaccine has developed the desired immune response. Alexander Gintsburg, the scientist behind the vaccine’s development, stated that the patient feels completely healthy following the administration. RT International reported this news. Last year, the Russian Ministry of Health approved two proprietary personalized cancer treatments: ‘NeoOncoVax,’ an mRNA-based vaccine for melanoma (skin cancer), and ‘OncoPept,’ a peptide-based drug for colorectal cancer. In April of this year, NeoOncoVax was administered for the first time at Moscow’s Herzen Oncology Research Institute to a 60-year-old patient suffering from stage III melanoma. Regarding the vaccine’s efficacy, Gintsburg noted that the patient is currently leading a normal life while continuing treatment. Tests indicate that the patient’s body has already begun producing the active compounds necessary to fight the cancer tumor and metastasis. According to the treatment protocol, the patient will receive two additional doses. Furthermore, the melanoma vaccine is being prepared for ten more patients over the next one-and-a-half to three months. Andrei Kaprin, head of Russia’s National Medical Research Center, explained that this technology differs fundamentally from conventional cancer treatments. It involves analyzing the genetic characteristics of the patient’s own tumor and healthy tissue to create a customized vaccine that trains the immune system to directly identify and destroy cancer cells. The Gamaleya Institute is currently also working on developing vaccines for pancreatic, kidney, and lung cancers.
