In Russia, a domestically developed personalized mRNA cancer vaccine, NeoOncoVac, has been used for the first time. According to the Health Ministry, on April 1 the drug was administered to a 60-year-old patient with skin melanoma from Kursk Region. The vaccine was created individually for the specifics of his disease and given as part of ongoing immunotherapy.
The drug belongs to the class of personalized cancer vaccines. Its purpose is to “train” the immune system to recognize tumor cells and attack them more precisely. For this, mRNA is used — a molecule that carries instructions to cells. The vaccine was fully prepared for the specific patient, and the final stage of production took place in a GMP laboratory immediately before administration.
The development was created by specialists from the National Medical Research Center of Radiology together with the Gamaleya Center. If use in patients with melanoma shows a positive result, the technology could also be adapted for other types of cancer.
Research into personalized cancer vaccines in Russia has been under way for about five years. In 2024, the drugs passed the preclinical stage, and at the end of 2025 the Health Ministry approved the use of two developments in clinical practice. Specialists stress that the technology is still at an early stage and requires full clinical trials. But the very fact of the first use shows that personalized oncology in Russia is beginning to move from laboratories into clinics.
