The developments of Alexey Moskalev, a biologist from Syktyvkar, and his colleagues from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), which can significantly increase the life expectancy of a person and find new methods of treating cancer, have reached the world level. This was reported by the scientific journal "Frontiers in genetics" (Frontiers in genetics).
In early March 2014, Moskalev, together with his colleagues Anton Buzdin and Alex Zhavoronkov, published an article in an international scientific journal on the search using computer technology for drugs that can significantly prolong life. This scientific work was a resounding success in the professional environment: in the first month after publication, the article was downloaded more than 10 thousand times.
Research by Russian scientists formed the basis for the activities of two large biomedical companies - InSilico Medicine Inc. (USA) and Pathway Pharmaceuticals (Hong Kong), whose main area of work is the fight against aging at the level of molecular processes, the development of technologies for longevity and the search for optimal therapy for cancer. The main difference from competitors is the use of unique computer algorithms in the search for new drugs and the selection of individual therapy.
“Based on many years of experience, a team of systemic and molecular biologists, mathematicians, bioinformatics, oncologists and IT specialists was able to create a methodology for analyzing biomolecular data of a patient's cancer with the aim of personalized selection of targeted chemotherapy,” said MIPT associate professor Alex Zhavoronkov.
According to him, an international team of scientists led by Buzdin has developed an unparalleled OncoFinder system - a computer platform designed to analyze the gene expression profile of a patient's tumor and compare it with normal gene expression. The results of the analysis make it possible to identify the causes that led to the formation of the tumor at the molecular level and to select the best targeted chemotherapy drug.
According to the journal, the team of scientists plans to continue research.