Mr Ivanov said that a centre was needed to coordinate operations in the area of high biomedical technologies. "We should consider creating a centralised structure in this area to coordinate interdepartmental and inter-academic cellular and genetic studies," Mr Ivanov said. "Such a centre should be able not only to coordinate, but also to provide a strict monitoring of activities in the field of high biomedical technologies."
He pointed to the need for a special bill on the use of high biomedical technologies. "Although the role of nanoindustry in the country's future has been recognised by and large, and the state is taking measures to develop it, measures in legislation are clearly not making much headway," Mr Ivanov said.
Mr Ivanov said that there is no clear definition of nanomaterials and nanotechnologies, and no legislation describing their properties.
Speaking about the disputed stem cell studies, the Deputy Prime Minister said: "Apparently, the issue surrounding high cell technologies is not a purely medical one. These are fundamental studies whose subject by far exceeds the limits of pure surgery or pure therapy."
He said huge financial injections were needed to attain goals in the area of high biomedical technologies, adding that it would be wrong to pin one's hopes solely on state allocations.
"Only cooperation with businesses, or public-private partnership, can maximally satisfy research requirements and subsequent efforts to introduce and commercialise developments within medicine," Mr Ivanov said.
The Deputy Prime Minister congratulated Anatoly Chubais on his appointment to the post of chief of the Rosnanotech state corporation.
"It is a very important post of great responsibility, and I hope the corporation will continue to work positively following the change of management," he said.