One of the key events of the marathon was a lecture by Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, dedicated to the development of the Russian university system, including in the context of the implementation of the Priority 2030 state program.

 A special emphasis in the Minister's speech was placed on the role of universities as centers of breakthrough research. As a vivid example, he cited the achievement of Pirogov University scientists who managed to create a drug for the treatment of previously incurable ankylosing spondylitis.

"Thanks to this development, 20 million inhabitants of the planet got a chance to be cured. But it is equally important that such a discovery made it possible to find the principle of manufacturing other drugs with a similar mechanism of action, but for a number of other diseases, including neurodegenerative ones. Creating formulas for such drugs, conducting their preclinical and clinical trials — all this can be done in the next three to five years,"Valery Falkov emphasized. 

This example clearly shows how fundamental research at the university is being translated into practice, opening up new horizons for the entire world of medicine and giving hope to millions of people.