BII is developing infrastructure required to bolster transparent, commercial research and production in priority industries within the emerging biotechnology sector in Russia.

• Fostering domestic partnerships and inter-organization cooperation in Eurasia to overcome barriers in the emerging biotechnology sector;
• Compliance with international regulatory standards for drug discovery and development; and
• Promotion of the Eurasian biotechnology sector in the international arena.

Highlights of Select BII Partner Projects:

BioConsortium - TEMPO

The Center for New Medical Technologies (TEMPO) is a biotechnology consortium that unites fifteen leading scientific research and production institutions in Russia. BII has funded TEMPO to establish a unified voice for the Biotechnology R&D community in Russia to interface with the Russian government and international stakeholders.

• The Initiative has catalyzed the development of TEMPO into a training hub for Russian partner institutions. In 2005, TEMPO developed the first accredited Russian Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Training Program in collaboration with the U.S. Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS). This BII-funded effort has trained more than a hundred Russian scientists in GLP, which is critical for international regulatory compliance. The BII-supported TEMPO Russian GMP Training Program is in the final stages of development.
• BII sponsored a Business Plan Competition developed by TEMPO to promote the entrepreneurial talents of former weapons scientists in bringing innovative technologies to the marketplace.
• BII continues to support TEMPO efforts to promote Russian biotechnology in the international arena at the annual trade conference of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), as well as the Silicon Valley Open Doors Conference (SVOD), among others.

ChemConsortium - Orchemed

BII has catalyzed the formation of a consortium of leading Russian institutions specializing in organic synthetic chemistry and drug development -The Noncommercial Partnership Center for Research and Development New Lead-Compounds (Orchemed).

• Orchemed was created to pool the extensive and unique chemical compound libraries of its members and screen for biological activity. The consortium will develop lead compounds for licensing and co-development with Western pharmaceutical partners.
• CFC Trust, the for-profit subsidiary of the consortium will provide contract services for the preclinical development of small-molecule drugs.

Contract Toxicology Services

BII has been catalyzing the transformation of toxicology facilities at multiple Russian partner institutions into GLP-compliant contract research organizations (CROs). The Initiative has used a series of strategic public-private partnerships to provide expert consultation and training to target institutions, coupled with targeted grants for vivarium upgrades, audits and certification.

• In 2005 and 2006, the leadership of RABIITT institutes have toured and consulted with multiple U.S. companies conducting toxicology services.
• BII has ensured extensive GLP Training to scientists at participating institutes through a combination of training regimens in Russia and the United States.
• BII is co-funding vivarium upgrades at the R esearch Center for Toxicology & Hygienic Regulation of Biopreparations (RCT&HRB) to achieve GLP standards.
• The Biological Testing Laboratory at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Pushchino, is now a GLP-compliant, AAALAC accredited CRO, offering preclinical services to Russian and international clientele.

Eurasian Delegation at BIO 2006

BII sponsored the participation of a fifty-five member Eurasian delegation of top-notch scientists and business leaders from the Russian Federation, Ukraine , Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, to the Annual Trade Conference, BIO 2006, in Chicago, from 8 - 12 April 2006. The Eurasian booth at the conference was organized in collaboration with the Science Centers and the Bioconsortium, TEMPO. Delegation members used the BIO Business Forum and Partnering System , among other mechanisms, to seek partnerships with U.S. and Western industry to license and co-develop novel Eurasian biotechnologies. TEMPO hosted a session, "Issues in International Biotechnological Technology Transfer: Russia," featuring a panel of distinguished industry leaders from Russia and the U.S., through the Doing Business Globally track at BIO 2006.

Other BII Capacity Building Efforts

• BII English language and Nonproliferation Training (BII-ELAN) Program – an eight-week intensive training course at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS).
• Communication Support Projects providing high speed Internet and other information technology upgrades at BII Partner institutions.
• BII is co-funding an effort to provide full electronic access to scientific literature for scientists at multiple BII Partner institutions through partnership with a leading publisher of scientific journals.