The pharmaceutical cluster in the Vitebsk region plans to launch several research projects, including international ones

The first year since its establishment, the Vitebsk medical and pharmaceutical cluster has been in search of its identity. Its participants have been involved in forming an algorithm for building an innovative network, establishing a communication system both within the infrastructure entity and with the external environment, including government bodies. Ahead lies the launch of several research projects, including international ones, a complex of laboratories for the full cycle of innovative drug creation, attracting new participants, and increasing investment activity.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION: The Union of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Scientific-Educational Organizations "Medicine and Pharmaceuticals – Innovative Projects" was registered on August 19, 2015. It includes Vitebsk State Medical University, NATVITA SOOO, RUBICON LLC, BelVitunipharma OJSC, VitVar LLC, AkonitFarma SOOO, Medelcombel SOOO, PharmMarketing Group LLC, SIVital LLC, Academpharm RUE, Vitebsk Regional Marketing Center KUP, and the Association of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Clusters (Russia).

Thanks to the initiative of private investors, Vitebsk region was the first in the country to begin creating a new organizational form of interaction in the innovation sphere for the development of the pharmaceutical industry, which can become a driver of regional economic growth. Today, the Union of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Scientific-Educational Organizations "Medicine and Pharmaceuticals – Innovative Projects" unites about 15% of Belarusian pharmaceutical enterprises. The research core of the cluster is the technology transfer center, established at Vitebsk State Medical University.

By the way, from a regulatory point of view, it is not yet entirely clear what a cluster is, and it is through the medical university that interaction with organizations determining Belarus's innovation policy is being built. The technology transfer center is included in the State Program of Innovative Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2016-2020.

Working in close conjunction with manufacturing companies allows the medical university not to

not only to train specialists in a targeted manner, but also to become a practice-oriented scientific center, emphasized **VGMU Rector Anatoly Shchastny**.

– Pharmaceuticals is a very dynamically developing industry that requires not only technical capabilities but also ideas and scientific developments. Therefore, partnerships with manufacturing companies provide opportunities for the most prompt implementation of research results from university science into practice, – believes Anatoly Tadeuszevich.

IMPORTANT: Within the framework of the cluster, a center for small chemical synthesis is planned to be established at the medical university for the modeling and synthesis of pharmaceutical substances. Currently, this problem is not being solved by any of the specialized institutions in Belarus, emphasized Alexey Sychev.

Synergistic Effect

– Being an innovation and industrial cluster, we concentrate our efforts on conducting scientific research and training personnel, – noted **Cluster Executive Director Filipp Plotnikov**. – On the one hand, by attracting technologies for the pharmaceutical industry, we are developing the research potential of the region. On the other hand, by implementing innovations in pharmaceutical companies, we intend to adapt the results of advanced scientific research to practical tasks.

According to **Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Union Alexey Sychev**, the main task of the cluster is to develop the competencies of its participants and solve common issues, problems both for them and for the pharmaceutical market as a whole. To this end, the goal is to form a scientific and technical base that would allow meeting any request from a manufacturing company for the creation of a specific medicinal product.

– We plan to do this on a full cycle basis, starting from the creation of a molecule, synthesis of the active substance, conducting preclinical studies to refining production technologies, conducting bioequivalence or clinical trials, experimental production of the product, which is not easy for many enterprises to do alone, considering the productivity of their equipment andhigh cost of substances," emphasized Alexey Sychev. The Union is interested in expanding its network of partner companies, especially those with unique experience and highly specialized competencies. Recently, the Vitebsk company "SIVital" LLC and the RUE "Academpharm" (Minsk) became its new members. The research enterprise "SIVital" is engaged in the development of innovative test systems aimed at determining the sensitivity of diseased cells to treatment, including in oncological diseases. Its involvement in the cluster's work provides an opportunity to conduct joint research for the development of new technologies or medicinal products. "Cooperation with 'Academpharm', which has experience in creating highly effective drugs from scratch, will also be of interest to the cluster participants," noted Alexey Sychev. Moreover, the research company BioMed (Slovakia) intends to join the Vitebsk pharmaceutical cluster. This became possible, in part, thanks to the signing of a package of cooperation documents between enterprises and organizations of the Vitebsk region and the Slovak Republic during the visit of the Prime Minister of this Eastern European country to the Vitebsk region last year. "The Slovak company views joining our union as an opportunity to implement joint research programs in the field of diagnostics and treatment of oncological diseases," said Alexey Sychev. For the Belarusian participants of the cluster, such a partnership, in addition to the scientific component, opens up opportunities for developing competencies in adapting and promoting the developed medicinal products in foreign markets. **Personnel Aspect** Russian partners are actively involved in the establishment of the Vitebsk cluster, in particular, the non-profit association "Union of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Clusters." Russia is one of the leaders in creating various types of cluster formations, so Vitebsk innovators strive to actively use the experience of their neighbors and develop cooperation with them in the scientific sphere. "Together with colleagues from VGMUwe are currently discussing the possibility of conducting joint research on the regulation of lipid and hydrocarbon metabolism based on active pharmaceutical ingredients of plant origin, – reported **Igor Narkevich, Rector of the Saint Petersburg State Chemical Pharmaceutical Academy, member of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Vitebsk cluster**. The funding for scientific research will preliminarily amount to about 1 billion Russian rubles. In parallel, the issue of including the project in one of the Union State programs of Belarus and Russia is being worked out. This will be an investment in the scientific infrastructure of universities, in the creation of technologies and products, as well as in the development of the human resources potential of educational institutions, added Igor Narkevich.

One of the priority areas of the cluster's activity is personnel training for the pharmaceutical industry.

– Today, many pharmaceutical companies operate in the field of biomedical technologies, and thanks to the partnership with the Saint Petersburg State Chemical Pharmaceutical Academy, we have managed to organize teaching a course in this area for students of the Vitebsk Medical University, – said Alexey Sychev.

In addition, the experience of colleagues from Saint Petersburg was taken as a basis for conducting academic Olympiads in biomedical technologies at the Vitebsk university. Based on the results of these Olympiads, 5 students were selected for an internship at the St. Petersburg biotechnology company "Biocad", which is a strategic partner of the Vitebsk cluster. Also, taking into account the experience of Russian colleagues, a mentorship program has been developed at VSMU. Its essence is that for students of specialties that are of interest to the cluster participants, teachers create additional educational programs for mastering competencies for the needs of a specific manufacturing company.

So, the Vitebsk cluster has lived its first year richly and energetically, overcoming growth problems and laying the foundation for future victories. Innovations are a rather specific asset, and building a timely form of interaction in the innovation sphere creates prerequisites for structural restructuring

regional economy and the formation of its growth points.

Sergey Antonov. Photo by Anton Stepanishchev. "Vitebskiye Vesti".