Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova held a meeting of the Council for the implementation of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for the Development of Genetic Technologies for 2019–2030. The agenda included summing up the results of the competitive selection of organizations on the basis of which world-class genomic research centers will be created, as well as the competition for the distribution of grants for the implementation of research programs and projects in the field of genetics.
“We are starting the next stage of the implementation of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for the Development of Genetic Technologies – with updated objectives, a reboot of previously implemented areas and the selection of new research centers. It is extremely important that the centers selected today bring the expected results. According to the Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development, approved by the President in 2024, genetic technologies are designated as a priority area. Our goal is not only to deepen fundamental research in this area, but also to ensure its practical implementation,” said Tatyana Golikova.
As the Deputy Prime Minister noted, the centers will be created in four areas of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for the Development of Genetic Technologies until 2030:
· biosafety and ensuring technological independence;
· genetic technologies for agricultural development;
· genetic technologies for medicine;
· genetic technologies for industrial microbiology.
The head of the Ministry of Education and Science, Valery Falkov, noted that the conditions of the competition had been revised.
“Today we are faced with the most important task of achieving technological leadership, in connection with which many programs for supporting scientific research have been finalized, including the program for creating world-class genomic research centers. Now, the presence of an industrial partner or a qualified customer is one of the key conditions for participation in the competition,” the minister emphasized.
World-class genomic research centers are consortia that unite the potential of research institutes, universities, and organizations of the real sector of the economy. Their activities contribute to the acquisition of new knowledge in the field of genetics and the development of new technologies.
Following a competitive selection process, the government has formed a list of organizations on the basis of which five world-class genomic research centers will begin operating in 2025–2030.
The Center for High-Precision Genetic Technologies for Medicine will be created on the basis of a consortium of the V.A. Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, and the National Medical Research Center of Hematology. Its main areas of work include the creation of anti-cancer drugs based on recombinant oncolytic viruses, drugs for the treatment of ischemic strokes, technologies for obtaining functional protein structures and pharmacogenetic approaches for medical diagnostics, as well as personnel training and retraining.
The Center for Predictive Genetics, Pharmacogenetics and Personalized Therapy is being created on the basis of the Russian Scientific Center of Surgery named after Academician B.V. Petrovsky. The expected results of the center include, for example, the search for and identification of new genes responsible for cardiovascular diseases; the development of a diagnostic technology (“liquid biopsy”) for monitoring the risks of rejection and oncological diseases in patients who have undergone organ transplantation; the creation of a remote access advisory center for doctors and the development of higher and professional education programs in the field of genetics and pharmacogenetics.
The world-class genomic research center “Genetic reprogramming and gene therapy” is being created on the basis of a consortium of five organizations: the Federal Scientific and Clinical Center of Physical and Chemical Medicine named after Yu.M. Lopukhin of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia, the Federal Center for Brain and Neurotechnology of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia, the State Research Center “Institute of Immunology” of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia, the Institute of Cytology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Moscow Clinical Research Center named after A.S. Loginov. The center’s program involves bringing several completely original drugs to implementation, for example, for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy and hereditary angioedema.
The activities of the World-Class Genomic Research Center “Ensuring Biological Safety and Technological Independence” of Rospotrebnadzor are aimed at actively introducing modern genomic technologies and synthetic biology methods into the country’s biosafety system. In particular, within the framework of the project, scientists set themselves the task of describing viruses of vertebrate and arthropod carriers in natural reservoirs that have pathogenic potential. As a result, taking into account the use of modern technological solutions for metavirome analysis, new, previously undescribed or modified viruses will be identified and their zoonotic and pathogenic potential for humans will be assessed. This will allow the Russian Federation to become the third country in the world to implement such global projects.
The Kurchatov Genome Center consortium will include the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center, the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the All-Russian Research Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology. The center’s main tasks include creating producer strains (bacterial systems), methodologies for designing varieties based on the analysis of large genotyping data, developing new varieties and hybrids, prototypes of varieties of strategically important agricultural crops obtained using genome editing, as well as developing and implementing educational programs for specialists (in genomic selection) and gifted schoolchildren.
In addition, following the results of the competition for the distribution of grants for the implementation of research programs and projects in the field of genetics, 13 teams conducting research in the field of genetics and 14 projects that will result in the creation of bioresource collections will receive support. The total amount of their funding in 2025 will be 1.7 billion rubles.
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