Hundreds of Moscow students packed out a lecture theater this week to hear what most of them already believe: Pharma’s Cool.
The lecture hall at Moscow’s Sechenov University of Medicine. Photo: sk.ru
The three-week lecture series targeting both students and healthcare professionals is run by Skolkovo’s Biomed Cluster and Moscow’s Sechenov University of Medicine in collaboration with Open University Skolkovo.
"We are seeing people who want to think about how to cure patients in the future,” said Kirill Kaem, Skolkovo vice president and executive director of the Biomed Cluster, referring to the attendees at a university lecture hall.
That jump in interest represents a “fundamental change” in social attitudes toward the future of healthcare, Kaem said.
The event ostensibly began Monday but is now getting into full swing. It consists of evening presentations every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, given by leading Russian and international experts, and cover everything from new drug development to the protection of intellectual property, drug registration and commercialization of research projects.
The program highlights all stages of the development of innovative medicines and delves into the success rates of research. Participants also have the opportunity to network with representatives from major pharmaceutical companies that are supporting the event, including Sanofi and Pfizer.
The program kicked off with a presentation from Kristina Khodova, the head of oncology and immunology in the Biomed cluster. She gave a broad overview of the challenges faced by the biotech industry but was positive about the prospects for its development.
“Despite the economic upheaval occurring throughout world, the industry continues to grow strongly. It employs more than 10,000 companies and half a million people," Khodova said.
The value of the global biotech market is estimated at $300 billion and grows at 10-12 percent annually, set to reach $400 billion by 2017.
Pharma's Cool will run from March 23 to April 20. The program is available here.
Biomed Cluster research assistant Jennifer Millar contributed to this article.