Yesterday evening the Prix Galien Russia Awards Committee honored excellence in research, development and innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry at its first annual award ceremony. The gala dinner was held in the presence of Florence Mehl, the Prix Galien International General Secretary; Sergey Tsyb, Vice Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation; Alexei Komissarov, Minister of the Government of Moscow and Elena Maximkina, Director of Department of State Regulation of Medicines from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.
For the first time in history, the Prix Galien Russia Awards Committee, a Jury of nine unrivalled Russian scientists and doctors, including four academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, recognized leading efforts in advancing the human condition through biopharmaceutical innovation in three categories: Research in Russia, Best Biotechnology Product and Best Pharmaceutical Agent.
“The Galien award family is a family of 17 members. It was nearly impossible to imagine that the Russian Federation could stay apart from this family. This will no longer be the case from tonight onwards. I am very glad to welcome Russia as the 18th member of our family,” declared Florence Mehl, General Secretary of the Prix Galien International during the ceremony. “The Galien award is proud to have as members of the Russian jury and steering committee a selection of scientists whose values and qualities are exceptional”, she concluded.
The Prix Galien Russia 2013 awards were presented to the following winners:
In the category of Best Research in Russia the award went to Prof. Professor Alexander S. Sobolev, Prof. Andrey A. Rosenkranz and Prof. Vladimir G. Lunin, for their work on Modular Nanotransporters (MNT). MNT are artificial multifunctional macromolecules possessing several modules that play different roles. The activity of every module leads to cell recognition, penetration and intracellular transport into the cell nucleus. The research program represents a unique strategy for addressing one of the major challenges of disease treatment: the development of therapeutic options that are both selective and effective, as is the case for cancer. The MNT fulfill these both requirements as they are considered a special drug delivery vehicle for personalized medicine.
In the category of Best Biopharmaceutical Product, the 2013 Prix Galien Russia Award was presented to Novartis Pharma’s Lucentis® (Ranibizumab), a humanized monoclonal antibody fragment designed to bind all isoforms of VEGF and block vessel permeability and angiogenesis. The small size of ranibizumab, intravitreal injection was selected to maximize the VEGF inhibitory effect in the retina, while limiting systemic VEGF inhibition. Treatment of neovascular AMD and DMO with VEGF inhibitors can improve or stabilize vision in a large proportion of patients who would otherwise have progressed to legal blindness within 1 to 2 years.
The 2013 Prix Galien Russia Award for Best Pharmaceutical Agent was presented to Eli Lilly’s Alimta® (Pemetrexed), an innovative chemotherapy with unique mechanism of action characterized by drug activation mainly inside of the tumor. In patients with adenocarcinoma of the lungs, pemetrexed increased overall survival beyond 1 year, reduced considerably treatment toxicity and improved quality of life along with hematological side effects rate reduction.
About the Prix Galien Russia
The Prix Galien Russia was inaugurated in Moscow, Russia on the 24th of October 2013 under the auspice of an exceptional awards committee composed of eminent specialists involved in the sphere of Russian and international pharmaceutical research. The award is supported by the Russian Ministry of Health.
Around the world, the Prix Galien awards outstanding achievements in improving the human condition through the development of innovative therapies and technologies.
For additional information log on www.prixgalienrussia.com or contact Crystelle Coury prixgalien@focusreports.net
