Letter from the Editor

Abstract

Full Text

Last months of the past year were marked by the growing interest of various government officials and parliamentarians, as well as the media, to the problems of the development of the biological information market and biotechnology. Even a simple review of dates and facts shows that our country’s leaders decided to take a serious approach to the revival of Russia’s technological potential in this area. Presidential Advisory Board for the Questions of Modernization and Technological Development held its meeting in Pokrov, where President D.A. Medvedev inspected the technological grounds for new medical compounds production. Prime Minister V.V. Putin visited the pharmaceutical company in Zelenograd, where medicines based on the recombinant proteins technology are produced. On October 15, 2009, debates in the State Duma of the Russian Federation were held, the topic of which was “a perfectibility of the legislative support for the biotechnological industries.” Industrial Committee in the State Duma has initiated that meeting. Another session with the participation of the Ministry of Science and Education and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation was held to discuss the science and technology issues, and finally, a Presidential message to the Federal Assembly of Russia contained a significant section on biopharmaceuticals. It is a common knowledge that before Perestroika the Soviet Union held one of the leading positions in the world in the field of biotechnological industries.