Andrey Tolmachov issued a letter to the global drug discovery and scientific community, underscoring the importance of condemnation and action against Russian invasion.
Over the weekend, while citizens of Ukraine hastened evacuations to the safety of nearby countries, Ukrainian biopharmaceutical pioneer Andrey Tolmachov sought to motivate and unify the world.
Tolmachov, founder and CEO of Ukraine-based Enamine issued a letter to the global drug discovery and scientific community, underscoring the importance of condemnation and action against Russian invasion.
“Every month we deliver thousands of novel compounds and thus simplify and speed up the search for new medicines,” Tolmachov said in his appeal.
The statement follows an open letter signed by more than 400 life sciences leaders denouncing Russian advances and calling for business leaders to economically disengage from Russian industry.
The United States has previously found it necessary to issue Anti-Terrorism legislation to limit the socio-economic advancements of countries deemed to be enemies. Cyberwarfare is a new method of attack, however with a more ominous face. Hackers cost Merck & Co. over $1 billion in damages following a cyber attack of tax software utilized by the company, as reported by Bloomberg.
Tolmachov’s letter explains that Ukraine has built global notoriety from its foundation at the dissolution of the USSR- no small feat. Enamine boasts of the development of the REAL Database, a program that allows synthesis of customizable molecule building blocks. He said all of the knowledge and experience generated from the program are being threatened by the invasion.
With a tone of proud nationality, the letter specifies that “over 50% of the molecules [comprising the world’s stock of chemical screening compounds] originate from Ukraine.” The biopharmaceutical supply chain is arguably fragile, as the world has seen through multiple years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of shutting down companies such as Enamine – and other Ukranian companies like Life Chemicals and Otava Chemicals – could be felt in the supply chain and beyond.
Biospace previously reported that Russia has felt these international reactions hit close to home. First Moscow State Medical University has paused recruitment for ongoing clinical trials due to an inability to receive clinical trial samples from central labs in Europe or the U.S. Sputnik V, Russia’s COVID-19 vaccine, would appear to no longer have the potential for global approval amidst the developing war.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, too, is contending with calls to minimize or altogether stop involvement. In the absence of an FDA statement, companies with the power to take action are doing so. ConforMIS, based in Massachusetts, has reportedly halted all distributions and future business endeavors with Russia and its affiliates.
Tolmachov concludes his letter with a plea for those reading to understand that “…Western countries must take full responsibility on their shoulders. Otherwise, Russia won’t stop here. They will continue to destroy Europe and it can be again too late.”
In addition to the financial, emotional and military supply support, Tolmachov specifically requests “entire isolation of Russia” and “to close the Ukrainian sky for Russian planes and missiles.”
The war is now firmly entrenched in its twelfth day.
