Sergey Voronin Said: «We Need at least Two Kinds of Domestic Medical Nutrition Products for Each Nosology from the Advanced Neonatal Screening»

Sergey Voronin, Chief physician of the Research Centre for Medical Genetics, took part in the round table devoted to medical nutrition within the annual forum «BIOTEHMED-2022». The forum is traditionally held with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation and the administration of Krasnodar Krai.

Sergey Voronin talked about the changes we expect in the market of medical nutrition and about how this will affect patients.

Medical nutrition is used to correct hereditary diseases associated with metabolic disorders, it allows to save life and health. A striking example of a disease that is successfully corrected by medical nutrition is phenylketonuria. Genetic changes cause the body to lose the ability to metabolize the aminoacid phenylalanine, which is mainly found in protein products. In the absence of treatment and diet, phenylalanine accumulates in the blood, leading to impaired intellectual development, vision, cramps and many other serious consequences. The prevalence of the disease in Russia is 1:6000 among newborns. Neonatal screening for phenylketonuria was introduced in Russia in the early 1990s. Through early detection and timely treatment with diet and medical nutrition, thousands of patients with phenylketonuria have maintained their health and lead the full lives. Many of them already have healthy children.   

«Today, in the framework of import substitution, the list of medical nutrition for patients with phenylketonuria expands. It will be possible to choose a product from three lines of different domestic manufacturers as of 2023. Doctors will be able to transfer a patient to another product, if he/she develops any individual adverse reactions Today we already have two lines of medical nutrition, and we expect in the nearest future a new series of products that are designed for patients of different ages: from newborns to the elderly, as well as medications for pregnant women», - said Sergey Voronin, chief physician of the Research Centre for Medical Genetics, at the BIOTECHMED forum.

«But we are not standing still, and neonatal screening will be expanded to 36 hereditary diseases in Russia as of 2023; a significant part of this list are the metabolic diseases, for which treatment today, as a rule, exists only one line of domestic products. To ensure quality and accessible medical care, it is necessary to have at least two medical nutrition products for each disease from the advanced screening list».