RUSNANO joined the fight against old age
The project for the production of innovative medicines to combat age-related diseases based on "Skulachev ions" has been approved by the Supervisory Board of RUSNANO. The total budget of the project will be up to 1.8 billion rubles, of which RUSNANO's share will be up to 710 million rubles.
The aim of the project is to bring to the Russian and world markets a drug for the treatment of eye diseases and a drug of systemic action. In Russia, the project company plans to organize the production of a medicinal substance from which ready-made dosage forms will be made on a contract basis. It is planned to enter the international market through licensing of production technology to foreign companies.
"Skulachev ions" – innovative antioxidants with a molecule size of about 1.5 nanometers – neutralize reactive oxygen species in the energy centers of cells – mitochondria. The uniqueness of "Skulachev ions" is that positively charged molecules retain their hydrophobic properties. This allows them to penetrate through the mitochondrial membranes, concentrating in their internal space. Thanks to targeted delivery to the mitochondria, a very small amount of a powerful antioxidant is required to achieve this effect. The size of the molecule and its design are selected in such a way that the antioxidant included in its composition is positioned inside the cell with an accuracy of several nanometers and is located near the point of the mitochondrial membrane that is most vulnerable to reactive oxygen species. This explains the high biological activity of "Skulachev ions" for antioxidants, which determines the high potential of their use as innovative medicines.
Preclinical studies have shown that ophthalmic preparations based on mitochondrial antioxidants prevent the development of glaucoma and stop the development of age-related retinal dystrophy in laboratory animals. The systemic drug is effective in the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases, such as some cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The applicant of the project is Mitotech LLC, an innovative company at Lomonosov Moscow State University working in the field of medical nanotechnology. The company was created to develop and market drugs based on mitochondrial-targeted antioxidants of the SkQ class ("Skulachev ions").
Financing will take place in several stages, depending on the results of clinical trials that were launched at the end of 2009. The launch of ophthalmic drugs on the market is planned for 2013, systemic drugs – for 2016. The expected revenues of the project by 2016 may amount to up to 8,439 million rubles due to the organization of production in the Russian Federation and licensing of technology to foreign manufacturers.
"The developed drugs reduce age–related changes in tissues at all stages of aging," said the scientific director of the project, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology. Belozersky MSU Vladimir Skulachev. – Preclinical studies demonstrate a significant reduction in animal mortality in middle age and, due to this, an increase in average life expectancy. The maximum life expectancy increases slightly, but the animals remain active almost until death, without showing typical signs of aging. This property of mitochondrial antioxidants makes it possible to create drugs based on them for a number of dangerous age-related diseases. They help to deal with age-related changes, and not with mortality at a very old age."
"Despite the scientific boldness, the project is interesting, first of all, for its applied orientation: in case of success of clinical trials, new–generation medicines that have no world analogues, fundamentally different in their mode of action from those presented on the market, will be brought to the market – much more effective in the treatment of a number of widespread diseases, says Olga RUSNANO Managing Director Shpichko. In the foreseeable future, this will confirm that there are world-class developments and scientific and technical potential in the field of innovative pharmaceuticals in the Russian Federation. The breakthrough scientific concept of the project, which is a technological platform for the creation of biologically active drugs of a wide spectrum of action, will allow laying the technological foundation for the domestic pharmaceutical industry of the future. It is safe to say that the proposed basic technology of the project already has many related areas of application with proven effectiveness, in particular, veterinary drugs.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru according to the materials of the RUSNANO press service
24.02.2010