Biotechnology: state and prospects of development. Results of the Congress

From March 16 to March 20, 2009, the Fifth Moscow International Congress "Biotechnology: State and Prospects of Development" and the VII International Specialized Exhibition "World of Biotechnology' 2009" were held in Moscow.

In early April, a meeting of the Organizational and Program Committees was held following the results of the congress and exhibition. It was decided to finalize the Resolution and to hold an International Scientific and Practical conference and the next exhibition "The World of Biotechnology 2010" in March 2010.

We bring to your attention a draft Resolution with the received amendments and proposals to the staged part of the Resolution.

ProjectResolution

V Moscow International Congress "Biotechnology: state and prospects of development" and
VII International Specialized Exhibition "World of Biotechnology 2009"In order to increase the use of biotechnology achievements in the interests of economic activity, solving problems related to food supply, preventing environmental pollution, diagnosing and treating particularly dangerous diseases, as well as assessing the state of modern biotechnological research, the V Moscow International Congress "Biotechnology: State and Prospects of Development" was held in Moscow from March 16 to 20, 2009." and the VII International Specialized Exhibition "World of Biotechnology – 2009".

Biotechnology is one of the fastest growing areas of high technology. The peculiarity of biotechnology, in addition to its high economic potential, is its powerful impact on the quality of life of the population through new medicines, new medical bionanotechnologies, new food products and environmental protection. The role of biotechnology in ensuring national security is high, bearing in mind the role of vital pharmaceuticals (vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutic antimicrobials, insulin, etc.), the continuing danger of bioterrorism and the use of microbiological weapons, the implementation of food self-sufficiency in Russia for basic foodstuffs.

Since 2002, five international congresses and two conferences on biotechnology issues, as well as seven specialized exhibitions "The World of Biotechnology" have aroused wide international interest in the scientific and technical society and have shown the relevance, timeliness and necessity of regularly holding global scientific forums in various areas of biotechnology in Moscow - the Center of High Technologies.

As long-term practice has shown, the Moscow International Congresses "Biotechnology: state and prospects of development" have proven themselves to be the largest scientific and practical forums in the Russian Federation.

The congress and exhibition are organized by the Government of Moscow, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Russian Chemical Society named after D.I. Mendeleev, the Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation, the Russian Union of Chemists, Expo-Biohim-Technologies CJSC.

The main topics for discussion were: assessment of the current state of biotechnological research, including in medicine, and their practical use in healthcare both abroad and in Russia; new technologies for the production of medicines, vaccines and diagnostics using biotechnology methods; nanobiotechnology, bioinformatics, genetic engineering, development of new dosage forms, biocatalysis, including including alternative energy sources, the use of microorganisms in the processes of extraction of gold, oil and other minerals, etc.

The Congress was held for 5 days and was designed to promote the development of internationally agreed principles designed to ensure the environmentally safe use of biotechnology, strengthen public confidence and dispel fears, promote the establishment of rational methods of applying biotechnology and ensure the creation of appropriate incentive mechanisms and many other urgent problems of our time. First of all, this applies to the following problems: increasing the production of food, feed, renewable raw materials; improving human health; improving the efficiency of environmental protection; improving safety and creating international cooperation mechanisms.

The Congress allowed to discuss the use of drugs obtained by biotechnology methods in various areas of medicine, including: oncology, infectious diseases, immunology, virology, cardiology, endocrinology, neurology and psychotherapy, enzyme therapy and other fields. The section "Biotechnology and Medicine" was the most numerous and its work took place for five days in parallel with other sections. The discussion of fundamental problems, in particular diagnostics, was linked to practical achievements in these areas.

The congress program included three plenary sessions: "Fundamental Research and Biotechnology" and "Biosafety and Bioethics" and a final plenary session; the latter also included the awarding of prizes by young scientists. In addition, the Program included 11 sections: "Biotechnology and Medicine", "Biotechnology and Agriculture", "Biotechnology and Industry", "Nanobiotechnology", "Biotechnology and Environment", "Biotechnology and Food Products", "Biocatalysis and Biocatalytic Technologies", "Biogeotechnology", "Innovations, finance and business", "Biotechnology and education", "Bioinformatics". In addition, within the sections "Biotechnology and medicine", "Biotechnology and agriculture", 3 "round tables" on the relevant specialization were also held.

Within the framework of the congress, 2 international symposia were organized: the Russian-Swiss "Quality management as a key factor in the development of the pharmaceutical industry"; the Russian-Finnish one on the problems of the influence of peptides and lactose in dairy products on human health.

Each section of the Congress was actually an independent international scientific conference with plenary, sectional sessions and poster sessions. 288 reports were presented at the plenary and breakout sessions, including 41 foreign authors, in addition, 292 reports were presented at the poster session and by absentee participants.

During the congress and the exhibition, about 50 events were held, which were attended by representatives of the scientific, technical and business community of 33 regions of the Russian Federation and 14 countries of the far and near abroad.

It is a tradition of the congress to hold a competition for young biotechnologists, whose number is growing from year to year. Thus, 51 scientific papers were presented at the Third Congress, 95 papers were presented at the Fourth, 138 papers participated in the competition at the Fifth Congress. The competition commission, consisting of heads of sections of the Congress, well-known biotechnologists, was headed by Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Shvets V.I. and Professor Ovchinnikova T.V. According to the results of the competition, ten laureates were awarded cash prizes, medals and diplomas. The best scientific works were also awarded with diplomas, medals and specialized printing publications with autographs of academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, RAMS, RAS.

The contest "The best products exhibited at the exhibition" was held. More than 40 diplomas and medals of the exhibition were awarded.

Sections, plenary sessions, international symposiums, and competition commissions worked under the leadership of leading scientists, including 26 academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, heads of academic and industry research organizations, universities, and responsible employees of ministries and departments.

Scientific collectives of higher educational institutions, research institutes and industrial organizations of Russia took part in the Congress.

80 publishing houses, specialized portals and magazines, media and television representatives were accredited at the congress and exhibition – Channel One, Russia, TVC, Stolitsa, 21 offices.

The Fifth Moscow International Congress "Biotechnology: State and Prospects of Development" and the 7th International Specialized Exhibition "World of Biotechnology 2009" demonstrated that a characteristic feature of the current stage of development is the increasing influence of biotechnology on improving human life, the possibility of using the potential of living organisms in the interests of economic activity.

A systematic approach to the study of biological structures, which allows using bioinformatics to combine proteomics and genomics data, to create a holistic picture of the functioning of a living cell and an organism, is a promising approach to solving fundamental problems of biology, as well as creating new drugs, enzymes for biocatalysis, creating highly effective products of economically valuable compounds.

The problem of practical development of modern achievements of biotechnology, the search for ways to activate the innovation process in the field of biotechnology is an urgent task for Russia, and occupies a central place in the biotechnology policy of the European Union and other developed countries. The development of broad international cooperation in this field and the active use of foreign experience is an urgent need for domestic biotechnology.

Summing up the results of the Congress, its participants note:1. Biotechnology is one of the fastest growing areas of high technology.

Therefore, the development and widespread use of modern biotechnologies in the pharmaceutical industry, medicine, the production of consumer goods, biotechnological methods of breeding cultivated plants and farm animals aimed at increasing the productivity and quality of products; minerals, for the preservation of biological diversity and environmental protection and other sectors of the economy is a determining factor for the sustainable socio-economic development of the country, ensuring its medicinal, food and biological safety.

2. Conducting research, development and creation of industrial production in the field of biotechnology at the modern level requires a well-equipped material and technical base and developed infrastructure, large material costs, state participation. At the same time, the key role is played by the cooperation and cooperation of research teams, the involvement of small and medium-sized businesses.

3. The organization and holding of Moscow international congresses, conferences and exhibitions should be continued; in 2010, a conference on the topic "Biotechnology: biofuels, ecology, megapolis" with an exhibition aimed at the interests of Moscow as much as possible.

Proposals to the operative part of the Resolution4. It would be advisable to develop and introduce into the rank of federal a separate federal target program "Development of biotechnology in Russia" for a period of at least five years, the main task of which is to put the development and production of key biotechnological drugs: vaccines, antiviral and antibacterial drugs.

5. Recommend to the Government of Russia (and other countries involved in the development of biotechnologies) to significantly increase the material and financial support of scientific institutions and organizations.

6. Proposals of representatives of leading industrial and scientific organizations: to ask the Government of Moscow to address them to the Government of the Russian Federation:

a) Develop and approve federal targeted programs:
– national drug policy;
– development of the medical and pharmaceutical industry until 2020;
– development of biotechnology until 2020.

b) At the state level to approve the definition of "domestic manufacturer": to consider as a domestic manufacturer an organization whose added value in the cost of manufactured goods is 25 percent or more, calculated in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

c) To ensure the financing of the scientific and innovative potential of Russia, amend the Tax Code of Russia, in terms of calculating the cost of production, allowing (string) the use of financial resources for R&D along with material costs, depreciation and other costs provided for by this edition of the Tax Code (Part 2), when calculating the cost of production.

7. Prepare proposals to the Government of Moscow, and, if necessary, to submit them to the Government of the Russian Federation:
– on the creation on a voluntary basis in the Moscow region of the association of a number of biotechnological scientific institutions and industrial enterprises into a single non-governmental interdepartmental commercial structure capable of attracting state material and non-material resources;
– on the creation of preferential tax conditions and provision of other benefits for the newly created structure during the first 2-3 years of its operation;
– on the concentration in the coming years of the leading scientific and production units of this structure in the geographically integrated center for biotechnological science, research and business;
– on the determination by the coordinating and organizing center of the specified structure of the Department of Science and Industrial Policy of the Government of Moscow, under whose jurisdiction it will be located (while maintaining departmental subordination or subordination of institutions and enterprises that are part of this structure).

8. The most important condition for the successful development of domestic biotechnology is the high quality of biotechnological education. An integral element of the modern system of personnel training for work in the fields of biotechnological science and production is advanced education, consisting in a constant in-depth analysis of the latest trends and trends in biotechnology and timely adjustment of educational programs taking into account the requirements of the time.

9. The results of scientific papers presented at the Congress demonstrated a high level of research, including the latest achievements based on nanotechnology and the latest methods of physico-chemical research. However, the problems associated with the practical use of these results and their implementation in the medical industry and domestic healthcare remain unresolved. It is necessary to provide for the inclusion of the submitted works in the development strategy of the medical industry.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the Organizing Committee of the Congress and exhibition

17.04.2009