The All-Russian competition of student papers "Pharma is love" was held in Saransk.;

Teams from eight universities of the country gathered at the All-Russian festival "Pharma is love", which ended in Saransk. The two-day forum of science and creativity, organized by Promomed Pharmaceutical Company, was held at the Mordovian State University (MSU) named after Ogareva. Students of medical, pharmaceutical, biological, chemical and biotechnological fields became participants of an exciting competition. The winners received not only a substantial cash prize, but also an invitation to complete an internship at one of the leading pharmaceutical enterprises, and in the future to start a career here.

The Forum of Science and Creativity brought together teams from eight universities of the country. / PROMOMED DM LLC

"The purpose of the festival is to inspire students to engage in scientific and project activities, show real career paths in modern pharmacy, and support talented participants and their ideas," said Peter Bely, founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company.

The Pharma is Love project was first launched at the main university of Mordovia in 2021. It was conceived as a series of lectures from leading experts in the field of medicine and pharmacy. In addition to the educational component, the project also plays an important career guidance role. As you know, the rapidly developing domestic pharmaceutical industry is in dire need of talented young personnel today.

The popularity of the project grew rapidly: very soon, students from leading specialized universities from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Penza began to join online broadcasts. And this year he pushed the boundaries again, reaching the national level. This time, except for the Moscow State University. Ogareva, the participants of the educational marathon were the North Ossetian State University (SOGU) named after Khetagurova, Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University (UNN), Samara State Technical University (SamSTU), Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University). Patrice Lumumba, Ivanovo State University (IvSU), Alekseev Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University (NSTU) and the Russian University of Medicine (RosUniMed).

The rich program of the festival included fascinating lectures and discussions with luminaries of science and pharmaceutical industry. The children were particularly interested in the use of artificial intelligence in the development and production of medicines. Answering questions from the audience, Kira Zaslavskaya, Director of new products at the group of companies, said that clinical trials of two new drugs for the treatment of HIV infection and cancer will begin this year. Thanks to the use of artificial intelligence, they were created in just one year, saving five years. But artificial intelligence is not just about creating medicines. For example, the Biochemist Saransk plant has a fully automated workshop for the production of tablets and capsules. Such equipment is available only in Germany, South Korea and here. A person chooses a program on a computer, and the entire complex cycle, the technological scheme for the production of a drug, proceeds independently, and sensors show how the process is going on. This eliminates the possibility of human error, allows for increased output, and implements lean manufacturing.

Peter Bely (in the center) presented awards to the winners - students of Samara Polytechnic University. Photo: PROMOMED DM LLC

The main intrigue, of course, was the results of the competition, during which the teams solved practical cases in the field of pharmacy and medicine. In the final, the children had to defend their projects before a strict jury: in addition to experts from the pharmaceutical company and the state university, it included representatives of the authorities of Mordovia. The chairman of the jury, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Candidate of Physico-Mathematical Sciences Vladimir Poroikov noted the high level of work.

- I think that you are already our colleagues, - the scientist addressed the guys. - You accepted this challenge, worked very intensively and tried very hard to defend your case. It's very cool!

According to the results of the intellectual competition, the jury's sympathy prize went to the SOGU team. Khetagurova. The third place was taken by the team of the Mordovian State University. The second place went to RUDN University students. And the victory was won by the guests from Samara Polytechnic University (SamSTU).

- We are the future biotechnologists. The competition work was devoted to the use of microneedle patches for the treatment of allergies using the ASIT method," the guys shared. - This year, our university started cooperating with a pharmaceutical company, and our students have already completed internships at the Saransk plant. We will definitely come here next year!

And the vice-rector of the Moscow State University. Larisa Balykov, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, is an expert on innovation in biotechnology and medicine.and she assured the participants: "Together with the pharmaceutical company, we are currently developing a program to support young talented personnel. I am sure that we will have scholarships for future candidates and doctors so that you can come here to work." It should be noted that during the existence of the project, dozens of talented guys who took part in it have already become part of the pharmaceutical company's team.

The special prize was awarded to representatives of Mordovian State University, a group of students led by Alexander Semenov, Head of the Department of Chemistry and Technology of Physiologically Active Substances, for their research work in the field of optimization and development of new drugs for the treatment of type II diabetes using artificial intelligence.

At the end, all the participating teams had to give their answer to the question: "What is the Pharma is Love festival for you?" There were different opinions: "chance", "vocation", "innovation", "life", "future"…

"And my answer is happiness," Pyotr Bely summed up. - You can't just get into medicine - only if you love it, your heart has chosen it, and your eyes are burning. But this is happiness.

1. rg.ru