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The First Annual Ceremony of the Prix Galien Russia took place in Moscow on 24 October, 2013

The gala dinner was held in the presence of Florence Mehl, the Prix Galien International General Secretary; Sergey Tsyb, Vice Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation; Alexei Komissarov, Minister of the Government of Moscow and Elena Maximkina, Director of Department of State Regulation of Medicines from the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

For the first time in history, the Prix Galien Russia Awards Committee, a Jury of nine unrivalled Russian scientists and doctors, including four academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences, recognized leading efforts in advancing the human condition through biopharmaceutical innovation in three categories: Research in Russia, Best Biotechnology Product and Best Pharmaceutical Agent.

Historical background

The Prix Galien was created in France in 1970 by a pharmacist named Roland Mehl. Its aim was to promote significant advances in pharmaceutical research. Until the creation of the Prix Galien, this field of research had remained largely unrecognized. A prominent jury was brought together comprised of clinicians, toxicologists, pharmacologists and pharmacists. Each year the award has been an opportunity to give credit to the most important drugs introduced into the public market as well as to honor the achievements of the best research team in the pharmaceutical field. Since its creation the Galien award has grown into a major event. It is seen as an influential event by all stakeholders in pharmaceutical research, including public authorities, scientists, pharmaceutical companies and medical press groups. It is considered the industry’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize and the highest accolade for pharmaceutical research and development.

Initially the Prix Galien was awarded only in France, but now the Prix embraces 15 countries.

The International Prix Galien was established in 1996.

7 February of 2013 is the date of the Prix Galien official launch in Russia (Prix Galien Russia).

The Prix Galien Russia 2013 awards were presented to the following winners:

• In the category of «Best Research in Russia» the award went to Prof. Professor Alexander S. Sobolev, Prof. Andrey A. Rosenkranz and Prof. Vladimir G. Lunin, for their work on Modular Nanotransporters (MNT). MNT are artificial multifunctional macromolecules possessing several modules that play different roles. The activity of every module leads to cell recognition, penetration and intracellular transport into the cell nucleus. The research program represents a unique strategy for addressing one of the major challenges of disease treatment: the development of therapeutic options that are both selective and effective, as is the case for cancer. The MNT fulfill these both requirements as they are considered a special drug delivery vehicle for personalized medicine.

• In the category of «Best Biopharmaceutical Product», the 2013 Prix Galien Russia Award was presented to Novartis Pharma’s Lucentis® (Ranibizumab), a humanized monoclonal antibody fragment designed to bind all isoforms of VEGF and block vessel permeability and angiogenesis. The small size of ranibizumab, intravitreal injection was selected to maximize the VEGF inhibitory effect in the retina, while limiting systemic VEGF inhibition. Treatment of neovascular AMD and DMO with VEGF inhibitors can improve or stabilize vision in a large proportion of patients who would otherwise have progressed to legal blindness within 1 to 2 years.

• The 2013 Prix Galien Russia Award for «Best Pharmaceutical Agent» was presented to Eli Lilly’s Alimta® (Pemetrexed), an innovative chemotherapy with unique mechanism of action characterized by drug activation mainly inside of the tumor. In patients with adenocarcinoma of the lungs, pemetrexed increased overall survival beyond 1 year, reduced considerably treatment toxicity and improved quality of life along with hematological side effects rate reduction.

The Jury of the Prix Galien Russia is composed of eminent specialists involved in the sphere of medical and pharmaceutical research:

President: Alexander Chuchalin – RAMS academician.

Vice-President: Michael Ugrumov - RAS academician.

General Secretary: Frédéric Boucheseiche

Jury members:

Sergey Bachurin – RAS corresponding member.

Vladimir Ivashkin - RAMS academician.

Eugeny Nasonov - RAMS corresponding member.

Rem Petrov - RAS, RAMS, RAA academician.

Dmitry Puskar – dr., prof.

Eugeny Sverdlov - RAS academician.

Gennady Sukhih - RAMS academician.

Jury honorary members:

Ivan Dedov – RAMS, RAS academician

Leonid Roshal– dr., prof.

Andre Sirota – INSERM President.

Yuri Kalinin – RAMS academician.

See more at http://prixgalienrussia.com/