Culture media with predetermined specific characteristics play a key role in ensuring safety, quality and efficacy of medicinal products, especially biologicals. It is necessary to formulate clear criteria for culture media suitability, because they are used not only in manufacture, but also in quality control of medicinal products. The expansion of the range of complex high-technology medicinal products containing biologically derived substances as active ingredients, whose quality and properties are tested by biological methods, calls for more stringent requirements for the quality of culture media. The aim of the study was to analyse requirements for the culture media used in the production of medicinal products — in order to identify approaches to the development of a national standard. Currently, culture media are not included into the State Register of Medicinal Products, and there are no standards that could be used by manufacturers to confirm that a culture medium complies with specific safety, efficacy and quality requirements. The paper summarises the results of the analysis of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, 14th ed., and nine leading world pharmacopeias’ requirements for culture media used for various purposes (manufacture, auxiliary purposes, and quality control). Most countries have adopted requirements mainly for those culture media that are used in purity tests. The analysis revealed differences both in the lists of requirements (test strains, incubation and storage conditions, preparation for use, suitability assessment), and the approaches to the establishment and presentation of requirements. The paper discusses the main challenges and risks associated with the quality control of culture media in accordance with the requirements of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, 14th ed. It outlines current national and international ways of improving the quality of culture media used in the production of medicinal products, and substantiates the need to develop an appropriate national standard. The paper suggests approaches to the development and standardisation of requirements for the quality of various types of media used in the production and control of medicines. These approaches could be used in the preparation of the general chapter Culture media.

Mass vaccination is an essential element of immunoprophylaxis of infectious diseases, and the global community has agreed that it is crucial for preserving the lives and health of children and adults. The objective of this study was to analyse the current state of vaccination of infants under one year old against bacterial infections, given that the National Immunisation Schedule is overladen with various vaccines, and there are apparent inconsistencies between the types of marketed vaccines and recommendations on their use. The article summarises the types of antibacterial vaccines marketed in the Russian Federation, analyses some aspects of combination of different antigens and interchangeability of vaccines. The authors justify the need to amend recommendations on antibacterial vaccination and to develop common rules for the use and combination of vaccines, as well as for their interchangeability. Another important issue is adoption of requirements for the contents of patient information leaflets. The article summarises the main safety concerns regarding the use of polyvalent vaccines and simultaneous vaccination against several pathogens. It discusses safety issues of multiple immunisation and the strategy to reduce potential risks associated with an intensive vaccination schedule. The authors highlight the safety of current immunisations schedules and the need to update vaccination standards. They also demonstrate the need to harmonise national recommendations on the use of vaccines based on clinical data and the results of international clinical trials.

The review analyses measles incidence in Russia at the elimination stage. Epidemiological studies have revealed changes in the measles epidemic process in Russia. It was shown that whereas the specificity of the epidemic process in the pre-vaccination period was mainly determined by the influence of the infectious agent, lately the impact of the social factor has increased. There was an increase in the impact of decreed groups on maintaining the circulation of the virus in the Russian Federation. The aim of the study was to analyse the specificity of the measles epidemic process in Russia, to identify the major current problems of measles vaccination, to reveal reasons that prevent measles elimination in the country given the present environment, and to formulate possible ways of solving them. The article demonstrates the role of migration processes within the country and infection importation from neighboring territories in the rise of disease outbreaks. The article discusses Russian regulatory documents that are devoted to combating the spread of measles, their consistent replacement and refinement bearing in mind the changing epidemiological situation and the current WHO criteria and guidelines for the infection elimination. High-level epidemiological surveillance of the infection is a key factor in choosing the optimal strategy of measles vaccination. The article lists indicators of epidemiological surveillance effectiveness. It also highlights the importance of molecular genetic monitoring of the measles pathogen. The authors outline measures that are necessary to achieve measles elimination in the Russian Federation given the current epidemiological situation.

An urgent safety concern associated with biological products is contamination with mycoplasmas, which may originate from donor tissues and organs, virus harvests, culture medium components, trypsin, animal blood serum, as well as be transmitted by personnel involved in the manufacture of medicines. Currently, due to an increase in the range of biologicals available, there is a need for more sensitive and specific test methods. In the Russian practice, microbiological (culture-based) testing of finished pharmaceutical products for mycoplasma contamination is performed using complex culture media whose sensitivity depends on the quality of proteins, ingredients, and reagents used. Growth promotion properties of the media are determined according to the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, 14th ed., using a single test strain — Mycoplasma arginini G230 (M. arginini G230 industry reference material). The aim of the study was to analyse current Russian and foreign requirements for the quality control of culture media that are used for mycoplasma detection, in order to update and improve the quality control procedure in Russia. It was demonstrated that a compelling advantage of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation is the possibility of using a semi-liquid culture medium which does not require special aerobic or anaerobic incubation conditions and allows for quantification of mycoplasma colonies and determination of mycoplasma titre in culture medium while testing its growth promotion properties using reference М. arginini G230 test strain. The analysis revealed some differences in Russian and foreign requirements for quality evaluation of culture media. These differences were taken into account when developing recommendations for improvement of the Russian test procedure, i.e. enlarging the range of test strains used and development of respective reference standards.

The main problems of using TNF-alpha in antitumor therapy are its rapid degradation in the bloodstream and the limited selectivity of accumulation in the tumor tissue. The SRC VB «Vector» developed a biodegradable molecular construct that provides protection against proteases and ensures targeted delivery of proteins to the tumor tissue. This construct was used to create an antitumor drug containing recombinant human TNF-alpha (rhTNF-alpha).

The aim of the study was to analyse rhTNF-alpha pharmacokinetics in the delivery system after a single administration.

Materials and methods: the rhTNF-alpha drug carried by the delivery system was intravenously administered to female outbred ICR (СD-1) mice only once at two effective antitumor doses, 2.55 μg and 5.1 μg / 20 g of body weight. The concentration of TNF-alpha in the serum and supernatants of organ homogenates, obtained at different time points after administration, was analysed by immunoenzyme assay.

Results: the obtained curves of TNF-alpha concentration in the blood were satisfactorily described by the equation for the twocompartment model without absorption. The rapid phase of elimination from the blood took 0–4 h, the slow one — 4–24 h. The highest specific content of protein was observed in the skin, spleen, and kidneys tissue. The calculation of pharmacokinetic parameters demonstrated that the highest values of tissue availability f_T were obtained for the kidneys and skin; the drug was retained for longer periods of time in the kidneys, liver and skin (according to the MRT data). As a rule, complete elimination of the drug was observed by the end of the first day after administration.

Conclusions: rhTNF-alpha carried by the delivery system was quickly eliminated from the blood and distributed in the internal organ tissues after a single intravenous administration to mice in the effective doses range. The main organs in which rhTNF-alpha was distributed were skin, kidneys, and spleen. The elimination of the drug from the blood was a two-phase process which was generally over by the end of the first day.

Early diagnosis of tuberculosis remains essential for the prevention of the disease and control of its incidence. The diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) has significantly improved over the last years due to the use of new immunological tests, including the Diaskintest.

The aim of the study was to assess the potential of immunological assays for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection and determination of risk groups for tuberculosis among personnel of different institutions.

Materials and methods: in 2015–2018, a prospective group-control study was conducted that included employees of various medical centres (n = 154) and healthy individuals (n = 30). There were no significant age differences between the subjects. All the subjects included in the study shared their medical history, underwent general examination, X-ray examination, and were tested with Diaskintest. Multispiral computed tomography (MSCT) of the chest was performed for every subject with a positive Diaskintest result.

Results: the comparison of the number of persons with LTBI in general care hospitals, personnel of a manufacturing firm, and among healthy individuals showed that the risk of being infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is very similar in all the groups (from 6.8 to 10.0 %). The highest risk of developing LTBI was found in people who worked in an infectious area for more than 5 years (48.4 %). The analysis of the level of immune complexes (ICs) demonstrated that individuals with LTBI did not have isotypes of IgG3 and IgE immune complexes, which are found in patients with tuberculosis. The identification of particular isotypes indicates a borderline state between LTBI and tuberculosis and requires therapeutic intervention.

Conclusions: the use of the Diaskintest makes it possible to distinguish groups of employees of various institutions who are at a higher risk of developing tuberculosis. At the same time, determination of the ICs helps to reveal the borderline condition which requires medical intervention.

In accordance with the requirements of the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, 14th edition, Clostridium novyi 198 test strain is used to determine growth promoting properties of thioglycollate medium when testing sterility of immunobiological medicinal products. The preservation of C. novyi 198 as spores requires a special liquid medium containing insoluble calcium chloride casein (CChC). At present, there is no reference standard available on the Russian market for the quality control of CChC used as a component of the media for preservation of C. novyi 198.

The aim of the study was to develop and certify the first batch of calcium chloride casein industry reference standard (IRS) for the quality control of CChC batches and liquid media containing CChC which is used to preserve C. novyi 198 as spores.

Materials and methods: thermally denatured CChC which was chemically synthesized from industrial CChC was used as candidate material. The quality control was performed using the test procedures described in procedural guidelines MUK 4.2.2316-08. C. novyi 198 spores were obtained as described in the «Sterility testing» section of MUK 4.2.2316-08 (preparation, inoculation and incubation in the medium containing calcium chloride casein IRS).

Results: a list of quality parameters was developed for calcium chloride casein IRS: «Spore formation» (certifiable parameter), «Appearance», «Loss on drying», «Clarity of medium». The first batch of the candidate calcium chloride casein IRS was certified. The value of the «Spore formation» certifiable parameter was found to be (32.6 ± 7.3) %, the IRS shelf life was 5 years when stored in a dry place protected from light at a temperature of 15 to 25 °C. A documentation package for the IRS 4228-444-2018 was prepared and approved. The liquid medium containing CChC reference material (0.3 g/10 mL) allows for preservation of the biological properties of the C. novyi 198 working culture for at least 12 months.

Conclusions: the certification results demonstrate that the calcium chloride casein IRS meets the applicable requirements and can be used as reference material to control the quality of new CChC batches and to assess the suitability of liquid medium containing CChC for preservation purposes. The use of the calcium chloride casein IRS makes it possible to standardise and greatly simplify the procedure for preserving the stability of C. novyi 198, to increase the efficiency and reliability of immunobiologicals quality control in terms of Sterility, and to reduce costs when using a freeze-dried strain.