The Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy (since 2016 - Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenetics of Non-Communicable Diseases) was created as the Kharkiv Branch staff unit of the Kyiv Research Institute of Cardiology named after Academician M.D.Strazhesko on July 1, 1981, by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR.

Subsequently, the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy was integrated by the Kharkiv Research Institute of Therapy of the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian SSR (Order of the MOH of Ukrainian SSR No. 231 dated April 18, 1986), renamed into the Ukrainian Research Institute of Therapy under the AMS of Ukraine.

Heads of the Department:

• since 1981 to 1991 – Mykhaylo Mykhaylovych Lyashenko
• since 1991 to 2001 – Oleksiy Valentynovych Zhmuro
• since 2001 – Iurii Stepanovych Rudyk

For many years, the department was the clinical base of the State Expert Center, MOH of Ukraine. On the basis of the Institute of Therapy, AMS of Ukraine, on December 1, 1995, the Regional Center for Clinical Drug Testing directed by Academician L.T. Malaya was founded, being affiliated to the Sector for Coordination and Control of Clinical Trials. The Department researchers Zhmuro O.V., Rudyk I..S. and Lozyk T.V. were included into its staff.

One of the Centers activities was development of a modern scientific methodology for organizing and carrying out clinical trials, upgrading the medical researchers skills in performing clinical trials of new drugs, organizational, methodological and auditing activities for coordination of drugs clinical trials in the northeastern region of Ukraine. For in Ukraine, based on the department headed by Rudyk I.S., a clinical trial was performed to evaluate the bioequivalence of drugs with the participation of healthy volunteers.

Actual problems of clinical pharmacology are developed in the aspect of functional, metabolic and pharmacogenetic mechanisms of modern drugs action used for the prevention and treatment of patients with non-infectious diseases, in particular those with heart failure with comorbid pathology. The results of scientific research have been reflected in monographs, study guides, articles, instructional guidelines, information sheets. First in Ukraine, with the participation of the department staff, a guide for clinical trials procedure was published.

The employees of the department always participate in international, all-Ukrainian congresses, symposiums and research-to-practice conferences on the problems of clinical pharmacology, cardiology, and rheumatology.

The methodological level of the department's research activities is a synthesis of modern clinical-instrumental, pharmacokinetic and pharmacogenetic approaches, permitting to improve and implement differentiated treatment regimens for non-infectious diseases, to personalize the use of medicinal products taking into account the patients’ pharmacogenetic profile.

 

The main fields of the Department’s research activity are:

• formation of approaches to individualization of pharmacotherapy for non-infectious diseases, namely, chronic heart failure under the comorbid pathology conditions (thyroid gland dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, obesity, anemia);
• studying pharmacogenetic aspects of the modern pharmaceuticals application and methods to optimize medical therapy of these diseases;
• determination of pharmacological agents efficacy and safety taking into account the pharmacogenetic profile of patients with cardiovascular diseases in conditions of comorbidity (thyroid gland dysfunction, diabetes mellitus, obesity, anemia) in order to prevent the heart failure onset and decompensation;
• research in the context of controlled clinical trials on pharmacotherapeutic efficacy and safety of drugs used in the internal organs’ chronic diseases.

The most important results of scientific research:

• pharmacogenetic study of β₁- and β₂-adrenergic receptors has been performed in patients with heart failure with systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle;
• the method of the heart failure course early prediction is suggested and differentiated approaches to the beta-blockers application are developed;
• pathogenetic evidence of the atherosclerosis and inflammation unity has been determined, infection being considered as one of the triggers for development and progression of coronary heart disease, which permitted to isolate the cohort of patients with coronary heart disease, who are subject to antibiotic therapy, and thereby to optimize the disease treatment;
• the score model for the individual quantitative estimation of the comorbidity course and stratification of heart failure patients with a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and type 2 diabetes mellitus has been developed;
• a method to assess the progression of CHF with a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and concomitant type 2 diabetes mellitus was suggested;
• research and methodological guidelines on organizing and performing clinical trials of medicinal products in Ukraine have been developed and implemented;
• the innovative research methodology for planning, clinical and statistical substantiation and analysis of the medicinal products clinical trials results has been developed and implemented.
• the necessity of allocation the isolating course of HF with low T3 syndrome in a separate classification variant taking into account the negative impact of low T3 level on the course of HF, common genetic factors increasing the risk of HF deterioration and low T3 syndrome development and leveling the dose-dependent effect of bisoprol has been substantiated.

As a result of the scientific activity, 2 monographs, 13 study guides, over 500 articles have been published in scientific medical journals. The total of 16 authorship certificates and patents were obtained. Over the period of the Department’s existence, 12 PhD and 4 doctoral theses have been defended. There is an ongoing PhD program in the department at this moment.

For persistent scientific efforts in the field of gerontology and geriatrics, the Department researchers Pyvovar S.M. (2003) and Ushkvarok L.B. (2004) were awarded Academician V.V. Frolkis Prize for young scientists. In 2020, Junior Researcher Associate of the department Gasanov Y.Ch. was awarded the medal "Knowledge, soul, heart - to people" by the Ukrainian Association "Krajina"   Rudyk I..S. was a laureate of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Award (1995), in 2018 Medentseva O.O. was a scholarship holder of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. For the obtained research results, the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenetics of Non-Communicable Diseases was three times awarded with the NAMS certificates for the best R & D. For the cycle of the above studies, the Head of the Department Rudyk I.S. was awarded the M.D. Strazhesko Medal for his achievements in health protection (2016) and Medal of Merit for Services to the Association of Cardiologists of Ukraine and personal contribution to the development of Medical Science in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases (2020).

Staff members of the department:

Rudyk Iurii

Losyk Tetiana Valentynivna

Medentseva Olena Oleksandrivn

Gasanov Yuriy Chingizovych

Pyvovar Serhiy

Udovychenko Maryna Mykhailivna

Babichev Denys

Kravchenko Iryna Hryhorivna