The head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, dismissed Rinat Maksyutov, director general of the Vector State Scientific Center for Virology and Biotechnology, for violating anti-corruption law and conflict of interest. The ministry announced that from May 18, the employment contract with Maksyutov will be terminated. Popova signed the order to this effect on May 16.
“The reason for the termination of the business relationship with Rinat Maksyutov, Director of the State Virology and Biotechnology Research Center, was a violation of the “Anti-Corruption” law and a conflict of interest,” Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement.
The department stated that Vector will continue to operate “in accordance with scientific work plans and established missions.”
Nikita Kanshin, head of the Vector press service, in an interview with the publication NHS stated that the center “has fulfilled and will continue to fulfill its obligations to study dangerous viruses and develop preventive and diagnostic drugs”.
The work will continue as before,” he said.
Maksyutov’s dismissal was previously reported by sources from Interfax and Kommersant-Sibir. According to them, the general manager was dismissed due to loss of confidence and one of the reasons for Kommersant’s interlocutor was “not to take measures to resolve and prevent conflicts of interest”.
“Good Explorer”
Anatoly Altshtein, professor at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, described Maksyutov as a good specialist in an interview with the Moscow Speaks radio station.
“Rinat Maksyutov was a good researcher. The smallpox group had excellent work on their virus, the person was qualified,” said Altshtein.
The professor suggested that his dismissal was due to the development of the EpicVacCorona vaccine for COVID-19.
“He was a student of Sergei Nikolaevich Shchelkunov, a professor from Novosibirsk, worked there, in this institution. Then he managed Vector and they were dropped as a result. I think the developer of this vaccine let him down. His mistake here is also clear, ”says the scientist.
Working in Vector
Rinat Maksyutov is 41 years old. He joined Vector in 2001 as a senior laboratory assistant. Later he became a trainee researcher, junior researcher, researcher, senior researcher, laboratory head of the genomic research department and the development of methods for DNA diagnosis of smallpox viruses. In 2016, the center was headed by a doctor of biological sciences.
NGS notes that Maksyutov established himself as an active scientific work. He is the author and co-author of more than 70 scientific papers, including ten patents.
Maksyutov participated in the development of the EpiVacCorona coronavirus vaccine, one of four vaccines developed in Russia to combat COVID-19.
A group from the European University of St. Petersburg researcher expressed doubts about the effectiveness of EpiVacCorona. In January 2022, they published a preliminary version of a study on the effectiveness of Russian coronavirus vaccines. In EpiVak, the effectiveness of Corona has not been confirmed by scientists. Vector said the results of the study cannot be trusted because of the small sample size.
Founded in 1974, Vector Center is part of Rospotrebnadzor and is one of the largest scientific, virological and biotechnological centers in Russia. Vector has a unique collection of microorganism cultures, specifically one of two places in the world where the smallpox virus is stored.