On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin stated that Russian scientists were close to developing cancer vaccines that could soon be available to patients. In televised remarks, Putin stated that “we have come very close to the creation of so-called cancer vaccines and immunomodulatory drugs of a new generation.” “I hope that soon they will be effectively used as methods of individual therapy,” he said at a future technology forum in Moscow.
Several countries and companies are developing cancer vaccines
Putin did not specify which cancer types the proposed vaccines would target or how they would be administered. Several countries and companies are developing cancer vaccines. Last year, the UK government signed an agreement with Germany-based BioNTech to launch clinical trials for “personalized cancer treatments,” to reach 10,000 patients by 2030. Moderna and Merck & Co are developing an experimental cancer vaccine that, according to a mid-stage study, reduces the risk of recurrence or death from melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer, by half after three years of treatment.
According to the World Health Organization, there are currently six licensed vaccines against human papillomaviruses (HPV), which cause a variety of cancers, including cervical cancer, as well as vaccines against hepatitis B (HBV), which can cause liver cancer.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Russia developed its own Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 and sold it to several countries, but at home, there was widespread public resistance to vaccination. Putin admitted to taking Sputnik to reassure the public about its efficacy and safety.
