Watan-Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Russian scientists are nearing a medical breakthrough in developing vaccines to protect humans from cancer, without specifying details about the types of cancers targeted by these anticipated vaccines or how they function.
Various countries have expressed hope for breakthroughs in cancer-related vaccination technology, but Putin’s comments sparked surprise nonetheless.
The website “rbc” reported that Russian President Putin claimed in his latest televised press conference that scientists in his country have made significant progress towards producing a vaccine against cancer.
Speaking at a forum in Moscow on future technologies, Putin said, “We are very close to creating what are called cancer vaccines and immune-modifying drugs for a new generation.”
He expressed hope that they would soon be used effectively as individual treatment methods, but the Russian president did not provide any details about the types of cancers that would be targeted by the proposed vaccines or how they would work.
He said, “Of course, there are many exciting discoveries now, and we look forward to such discoveries in the future.”
530 Russian drugs
According to the same source, 530 Russian drugs were registered in 2023, and the production of local equipment for heart and vascular surgery, resuscitation, rehabilitation, and genetic disease diagnosis began due to the developments of scientists and doctors.
Putin has made bold claims at press conferences before, but he has also spoken against Russia’s hesitancy to vaccinate against COVID-19.
During the pandemic, the country introduced its own Sputnik V vaccine, which the president said he had personally taken.
According to the Global Cancer Research Fund, as of 2020, this disease was registered in 18 million people, including 9.3 million cases in men and 8.8 million in women.
It ranks second in the world in the list of causes of death. The foundation describes prevention of this disease as one of the most dangerous health problems in the 21st century.
In early February of this year, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko announced at the eighth annual “We Will Live!” awards ceremony that more than 100 drugs for cancer patients are undergoing clinical trials in Russia.
Murashko said, “Today, we have more than 100 drugs (for cancer) in the clinical trial stage, and more than 130 drugs were registered locally last year.” He added that Russia has export potential in the field of nuclear medicine.