The State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology in 2020 was awarded to a team of authors, including the graduate of biotechnology faculty of KSMU, Deputy Director of the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology named after N.F. Gamaleya of the Ministry of Health of Russia, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences – Denis Yurievich Logunov, for the development and implementation of effective recombinant vaccines against Ebola and a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) into the practice of domestic healthcare, as well as for the development of technology for constructing viral delivery systems cassettes with an insert of the Ebola virus glycoprotein gene and the SARS-CoV-2 virus S-protein gene
The team of authors (Gintsburg A.L., Logunov D.Yu. and Borisevich S.V.) provided a breakthrough in the development of new viral vector platforms for creating recombinant viral vaccines and drugs for gene therapy and studying the features of target gene expression in various cell types. Panels of original target vectors based on recombinant human and animal adenoviruses, vesicular stomatitis virus, lentiviral vectors have been created. The most successful application of the platform has been demonstrated in the “GamEvac” and “GamEvac-Combi” vaccines against Ebola and Sputnik V against SARS-COVID 19. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the developed drugs have been studied, including preclinical studies in primates and clinical trials. The development and improvement of vector platforms, as well as the introduction of these developments into industrial practice, led to the creation of fundamentally new drugs. These drugs are officially registered for use in practical healthcare.