Evgeny Zaytsev, Managing Partner, RMI Partners: "It is great to witness young scientists grasping significant medical problems and addressing important global science trends"

Print 03 April 2014

Two Russian project teams developing innovative medical technologies were awarded special RUSNANO prizes in The Young Scientist Competition at the U-NOVUS Forum in Tomsk, Russia.

“In the process of selecting the teams, we’ve had an opportunity to witness young scientists to well understand and address global medical needs. This is very important and awesome,” – said Evgeny Zaytsev, Managing Partner, RMI Partners (the management company of RusnanoMedInvest (RMI) venture fund) at the award ceremony of the projects selected by the RUSNANO jury.

One special prize went to the team of the Institute of Physics and Materials Science of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPMS SB RAS) for successful implementation of the project "Ceramic composite materials with hierarchic structure for functional and structural applications".

“These guys have developed ceramics with the structural properties almost identical to those of the human bone. They not only know how to make such ceramics but also can print it on a 3D printer; we’ve had a chance to see remarkable objects presented at their booth, - stated Dr. Zaytsev, - "Market for biomaterials, inlays for orthopedics is worth tens of billions of dollars, so it is time our advanced youth starts pushing aside global manufacturers”.

Another prize was given by Evgeny to the team of Tomsk Cancer Research Institute for the project “Personalized treatment of breast cancer patients”.

“Why do we like this team? Breast cancer is still a very serious medical problem and any solution that help improve therapeutic outcomes is increasingly in demand”, – he noted, - “There is a company called Syndax in RusnanoMedInvest portfolio known for its molecule being developed to target breast cancer epigenetics resistance”.

“Moreover, it is widely recognized that medicine is getting more and more personalized addressing suboptimal efficacy of existing therapies. It is particularly important for various subtypes of breast cancer – the problem the team is trying to solve. It is great that they understand this trend in medical science”, – E.Zaytsev added.

Project teams were granted RUSNANO certificates to participate in the “Open Innovations” to be held this Fall in Moscow. The certificates will help teams pitch their projects to potential investors, and build their network in the community of investors and biotech entrepreneurs.

Forum U-NOVUS was held in early April in Tomsk, Russia. U-NOVUS is a new federal platform that generally focuses on the objectives and interests of young scientists. The purpose of the forum is to foster the interaction between young inventors and business representatives, development institutes, investors and customers. U-NOVUS brought over 1,000 participants, 500 of whom are young scientists from 60 regions of Russia. They presented 138 research projects in various fields of science and technology.

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