Editor-in-Chief Opening Remarks

Dear Readers,

We present to your attention the second issue of Lex Genetica for 2025. The thematic structure of this issue reflects the authors’ commitment to an interdisciplinary understanding of legal challenges stemming from global developments in jurisprudence, genetics, and biotechnology.

The Private Law Dimension section addresses complex issues involved in the patenting of microorganism strains as objects of genetic technology. Analyzing existing civil law norms and pointing to the insufficient legal regulation of relations in this area, D.O. Osmanova proposes the incorporation of international experience to improve national regulation.

The Comparative Legal Studies section presents articles analyzing international experience in the regulation of high-tech drugs and neurotechnologies. The paper by D.V. Ponomareva analyzes supranational regulation of the circulation of high-tech medicines by international organizations, including integration associations such as the European Union, the African Union, and the Eurasian Economic Union. In order to simplify the cross-border distribution of such vital commodities, the author emphasizes the need to harmonize and unify approaches. The article by M.V. Posadkova and E.A. Brezhneva presents a comparative legal analysis of judicial practice that focuses on issues associated with the legal regulation of neurotechnologies in Russia and abroad. On the basis of a comparative legal review of the legislation of the Republic of Chile, France, and the United States, the authors justify the need to develop special regulations for neurotechnologies to protect individual rights and create a fair balance between technological progress and human rights.

Under the section entitled Ethical and Philosophical Issues, I.R. Begishev, A.A. Shutova, and  P.S. Gulyaeva systematize the key legal and deontological problems arising at the intersection of rapid technological progress in the field of nanomedicine. Due to their specific nature of these issues, the authors advocate the development of a specialized code of ethics for their regulation. N.V. Zakharova and R.F. Nasyrova present an overview of foreign studies into pharmacogenetic tests in psychiatry that consider methodological, regulatory, standardization, ethical, and legal aspects. The authors conclude that genetic analysis, especially pharmacogenetic testing, represents a promising direction for personalized medicine.

The Expert Commentary section discusses ethical and methodological issues of genetic research involving psychiatric patients, as well as the prospects for personalized psychiatry. The work of Z.V. Ashurov and I.I. Khairetdinova reveals essential principles for conducting genetic research and creating repositories of biomaterial – or biobanks – involving psychiatric patients.

The issue concludes with an overview of the Law and Biotechnology: Synergy in the Context of Bioeconomy Development session, which was held as part of the XIII St. Petersburg International Legal Forum on May 20, 2025. The session was organized by the Center for Legal Support of Bioeconomics and Genetic Technologies at the Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL).

We hope that the topics covered in this issue will inspire you, dear readers, to engage in promising new research and develop the practical application of scientific achievements.

Best regards,

Editor-in-Chief O.S. Grin