Drug Design and Development ISTC Targeted Initiative - A Review ...

Dear Colleagues,I would like to cordially welcome you to the twelfth seminar of the Scientific Advisory Committee of theInternational Science <strong>and</strong> Technology Centre (<strong>ISTC</strong>). I am grateful that so many experts involved inhealth research <strong>and</strong> promotion have come to Irkutsk to take part in focused discussions on the topic of‘Combating Global Infections’.I am also pleased to see that special attention has been paid to the active participation of young scientists<strong>and</strong> students in this seminar program. I thank the Irkutsk State Medical University for arranging thestudent participation.The subject of the seminar is highly topical. Health issues affect people in the same way all over theworld <strong>and</strong>, as we are all aware, there are no geographical boundaries to infection.In October last year a meeting of the State Duma of the Russian Federation discussed <strong>ISTC</strong>’s activitiesin medicine <strong>and</strong> healthcare. <strong>ISTC</strong> presented a report on its work in the field of biomedical science. Ofour more than 600 funded projects in the biotechnology <strong>and</strong> medicinal field, almost half of them (to avalue of $100 million) are related to the control of global infections. Projects to date have included: infectionsurveillance, novel diagnostics <strong>and</strong> the equipping of diagnostic laboratories with up-to-date devices;drugs <strong>and</strong> vaccine development, <strong>and</strong> the introduction of international quality st<strong>and</strong>ards into laboratory,production <strong>and</strong> clinical practices (GLP, GMP, GCP).Another area of <strong>ISTC</strong>’s work has focused on the integration of Russian <strong>and</strong> other CIS specialists <strong>and</strong>scientists into the world research community, whereby travel support to attend international conferenceshas been just one area of this important program. The principle <strong>ISTC</strong> beneficiaries in Russia has beenscientists from the Institutes of the Ministry of Health, the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, theRussian Academy of Sciences <strong>and</strong> the Ministry of Agriculture. Related organizations have been beneficiariesin other countries of the CIS.<strong>ISTC</strong> has focused on the following three areas in regard to biotechnology <strong>and</strong> medicine:1. Disease surveillance$25 million for surveillance of MDR/XDR tuberculosis, HIV, hepatitis, zoonotic <strong>and</strong> water-born infectionsin Russia <strong>and</strong> CIS. Of note in this area is <strong>ISTC</strong>’s project on the ‘Further Improvement of Influenza Surveillancein Russia - Contribution in Global Influenza P<strong>and</strong>emic Preparedness’, which started in early2006. <strong>ISTC</strong> believes that this project facilitated surveillance <strong>and</strong> diagnostic capacities at the time whenthe ability to test for emerging swine influenza was becoming critical.<strong>ISTC</strong> runs a special program on ‘Central Asian Disease Surveillance’ aimed at improving the situationwith infectious diseases in a region where there is a clear <strong>and</strong> present threat.6