Russia's personalized melanoma vaccine Neooncovac shows promising early results
Russian scientists have administered the first dose of the personalized mRNA melanoma vaccine Neooncovac to a 60‑year‑old man with stage III melanoma and metastases. The patient reported feeling normal and laboratory tests showed a strong immune response, which the developers said exceeded expectations.
The vaccine was created by the Gamaleya Research Institute under scientific director Aleksandr Ginzburg. It is produced individually for each patient by analysing genetic data from the tumour and healthy tissue and synthesising a custom mRNA formulation. Russia’s Ministry of Health approved Neooncovac and the peptide drug Oncopept for colorectal cancer last year. The institute plans to prepare vaccines for ten additional patients, with production expected within one and a half to three months, and aims to treat up to 20 patients by the end of the year. Researchers are also developing similar personalised vaccines for pancreatic, kidney and small‑cell lung cancers.
Entities: Aleksandr Ginzburg · Alexandr Ginzburg · Andrej Kaprin · Andrey Kaprin · Gamaleya Research Institute · Moscow Oncology Research Institute Herzen · Neooncovac · Oncopept
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 4 SOURCES] The first patient treated with Neooncovac is a 60‑year‑old man with stage III melanoma and metastases. (Patient details)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Neooncovac is produced individually for each patient using tumour and healthy tissue genetic analysis to create a custom mRNA vaccine. (Vaccine production method)
- [● 4 SOURCES] The institute plans to prepare personalized vaccines for ten more patients, with production completed within 1.5 to 3 months. (Future production plan)
- [● 4 SOURCES] Russia's Ministry of Health approved the mRNA vaccine Neooncovac for advanced melanoma and the peptide drug Oncopept for colorectal cancer last year. (Regulatory approval)
- [● 3 SOURCES] The patient felt normal and showed a very positive immune response after vaccination. (Clinical observation)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Gamaleya Institute is also developing personalized vaccines for pancreatic, kidney and small‑cell lung cancers. (Research pipeline)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Aleksandr Ginzburg said the immune response exceeded expectations. (Scientific director statement)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] A total of up to 20 patients are expected to receive the vaccine by the end of the year. (Year‑end target)