St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology was established in 1992 and has been engaged in research in bioregulation and gerontology. Its basic task is to introduce into the medical practice the results of 20-year experimental and clinical studies of a new class of medicinal substances – peptide bioregulators, which were created in the Research Laboratory of Bioregulators of the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy.
In 2001 the Institute was integrated into the North-Western Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. Research activities of the Institute are related to:
fundamental studies, improvement of methods for diagnosis and prognosis of various diseases, development of research and production programmes in bioregulation and gerontology;
design, clinical study, manufacture and introduction into the clinical practice of medications, state-of-the-art technologies of diagnostics and therapy for the purpose of early diagnostics, prevention and treatment of age-related pathologies;
propagation of research findings in the field of bioregulation and gerontology (by organizing scientific conferences, publishing research papers etc.).
During 30 years of its activities, Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology has become a key institution in the field of national and European Gerontology. In 2008, the Council of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) adopted SPB IBG as an IAGG Collaborating Centre. In 2010 the Institute got the UN ECOSOC Special Consultative status. In 2011, the Institute was enrolled in the Global Ageing Research Network – GARN, (identification number 2011-190) by the decision of the IAGG World Council.
Scientific developments of the Institute made it possible to create new medicinal peptide preparations and introduce them into medical practice. As a result, 6 drugs (Thymalin, Thymogen - immunomodulators and stimulators of regeneration processes, Cortexin - restoration of brain functions, Retinalamin - restoration of retinal functions, Samprost - restoration of prostate functions, Epithalamin - regulator of the endocrine system and melatonin secretion) were approved by the Ministry of Health the USSR and the Russian Federation for medical use (more than 15 million people received the drugs).
All drugs are innovative peptide-based products, all being covered by 208 patents including 97 foreign ones (USA, Europe, Eurasia, Japan, Australia, etc.).
Presently St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology is the only research institution in the North-Western region of Russia, which is engaged in research on ageing, and at the same time is an active clinical diagnostic center in gerontology and geriatrics.