Cuban biotechnology – a news chronology

(From stories compiled by FOCAL, the Canadian Foundation for the Americas)

2005

February 11: Cuba's successful battle against the dengue epidemic and infectious Hepatitis C disease needs to be studied and, if possible, emulated in Malaysia. Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said that during a recent visit to Cuba he had learned that the country's methods were very effective in combating the two diseases. "I will inform the Government about Cuba's ability to combat dengue and Hepatitis C disease so that we can observe how they did it," he told reporters at Kuala Lumpur. (The Star Online, 12/2/05)

February 16: Cuba's Centro de Biofísica Médica (CBM) [Center for Medical Bio-physics] exported to Venezuela a first lot of 26 out of 100 Angiodin PD-300, an equipment to develop vascular research. The equipment, widely used in Cuba's health care network of vascular hemodynamic labs, is a noninvasive devise designed for the early detection and diagnosis of peripheral vascular ailments. Its acquisition improves Venezuela's sanitary system, especially its Bario Adentro campaign implemented by medical and paramedical personnel. (Prensa Latina, 16/2/05)

February 18: Fidel Castro has warned the state-run pharmaceutical industry that he intends to crack down on illegal sales of medication, and pointed a finger at those in charge of producing and distributing legal drugs. Castro addressed the issue in his speech at a National Health Workers' Union congress to which the foreign press was not admitted but which was broadcast on state television. "You cannot have people selling medication on street corners. It is a shameless act on the part of anyone who does it and even more so on the part of anyone who tolerates it," he emphasized. The medications are obviously "stolen from either pharmacies or factories," he said, and those who cooperate in that activity must be "arrested and tried." Castro warned everyone linked to the pharmaceutical industry, from Public Health Ministry officials to pharmacy clerks, that if the practice continues "we will proceed to directly take over the (nation's) 2,000 pharmacies," which are already state run. Castro said he trusted "one warning will be enough." (EFE, 18/2/05)

March 1: A Cuban vaccine protecting children against four diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, and hepatitis B has been used for the first time, under the National Immunization Program. The highly efficient vaccine, which reduces the number of shots and visits to vaccination centers, is the result of a joint project between the Finlay Institute and the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center. Professor Miguel Galindo, head of the Public Health Ministry's National Vaccination Program, pointed out that all children born from last January on, except those whose mothers are infected with hepatitis B, will be immunize with the new vaccine. Children from mothers carrying hepatitis B will be vaccinated against the same diseases but under another plan. (Prensa Latina, 1/3/05)

March 17: Cuba is likely to eliminate tuberculosis in the near future, according to AIN News Agency. To achieve that goal, the island will have to lower the incidence to five cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2004 the rate was 6.6 on the island, said Maria Josefa Llanes, an official with the National Tuberculosis Control Program of the Cuban Health Ministry. The healthcare specialist said the nations with the lowest incidence in the region are Chile, Uruguay and Cuba. In Cuba's case, over 100 of its 169 municipalities have a rate under five. (Radio Habana Cuba, 17/3/05)

March 17: The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of YM BioSciences Inc.'s experimental TheraCIM drug in a clinician-sponsored study to treat a child with advanced brain cancer. The drug earlier achieved a 35-per-cent response rate in the second of three clinical trials conducted in Germany, allowing YM's European partner to proceed to pivotal testing. TheraCIM was developed in Cuba and has been precluded from clinical testing in the United States because of trade legislation with Cuba. (The Globe and Mail, 17/3/05)

April 19: Pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies from 29 countries, including the United States, are exhibiting their products in Havana at the XII International "Health for All" Fair. Among the 91 exhibitors are American Medrad, which produces medical equipment and Navarreta Group-Wotham Laboratories, a producer of clinical, biological and pharmaceutical products. (EFE, 19/4/05)

April 20: Cuba's Finlay Institute announced the completion of clinic trials of a vaccine for cholera at the 12th International Fair "Health for All". Specialists from the institution said the product will soon be evaluated in Africa, where the disease is endemic. (Prensa Latina, 20/4/05)

April 25: World Health Organization (WHO) inspector David R. Buckley praised the scientific and technological level of the Cuban pharmaceutical industry, local mass media reported. After giving a conference in the 3rd International Forum on Aseptic Processing in the Bio-pharmaceutical Industry, the expert highlighted the training of Cuban professionals and rigor of those regulations currently in force in the island for the production of medicines. The meeting was attended by experts from Spain, Italy, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Australia, Argentina, Mexico and Uruguay. (Prensa Latina, 25/4/05)

April 25: Malaysia agreed to allow Cuba to use Malaysians for clinical trials of vaccines in a bid to boost cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector between the two countries. The deal was reached between visiting Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro, the younger brother and designated successor of Fidel Castro, and Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak. It involves procurement, manufacturing and research of vaccines and pharmaceutical products, Najib said. Cuba's strength is in production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines, having developed a cheaper vaccine to treat childhood meningitis in 2003. (AP, 25/4/05)

May 1: Prawn and shrimp breeders will be able to breathe easy soon with a biotech product that could make their fry resistant to diseases such as the dreaded white-spot virus. And no one is more thrilled than prawn farm owner Hashnoel Murshim Hashim, the first in Malaysia to try Acuabio 1, a growth stimulator agent developed by a Cuban biotechnology research centre. Initial results during test trials have shown that the product increased productivity by 100 per cent. (New Straits.Com, 1/5/05)

May 18: The Cuban experience in curing leukemia to 70 percent of child patients will be presented during the 5th National Congress on Hematology, Immunology and Transfusion Medicine taking place in Havana. Dr. Jose Manuel Ballester, president of the Cuban Hematology Society, said the congress will take place at the same time as the 7th Latin American Hematology Symposium, with the attendance of 600 delegates from more than 25 countries. (Prensa Latina, 18/5/05)

May 30: Mozambique is to begin using an anti-cholera vaccine developed at the Finlay Institute, according to Alcinda Antonio de Abreu, minister of foreign business and cooperation for that country, who spoke with Granma International just before ending a three-day visit to Cuba. The minister explained that in the future, immunization campaigns using other products from that Cuban scientific center could be undertaken against malaria, tuberculosis and other endemic diseases. (Granma International, 30/5/05)

June 30: After several days of intense analysis, the 14th International Scientific Congress CNIC 2005 finished in Havana, after bringing together over 800 professionals from 40 countries worldwide. Agendas included master conferences and symposiums on infectious diseases, environment, neurosciences and nano-technologies, as well as the exhibition of new products of the medical-pharmaceutical industry, dedicated this time to the 40th anniversary of the foundation of National Center for Scientific Research (CNIC). (Prensa Latina, 30/6/05)

July 2: Citoprot-P, a new product designed in Cuba to treat diabetic ulcers, will be introduced into treatment regimens in hospitals throughout the country. The cutting-edge drug, designed by the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center (CIGB), was produced in close collaboration with the Angiology Institute, and is the only preventative alternative to amputation of the extremities in diabetic patients presenting with these lesions. According to CIGB experts, the medication stimulates granulation and epithelization, and reduces surgical treatment thus limiting more invasive surgery due to relapses. (Prensa Latina, 2/7/05)

August 8: Cuba and Indonesia have reportedly signed a bilateral co-operation agreement to develop and manufacture the Cuban monoclonal antibody known as 1E10, a vaccine expected to be highly effective against cancer, according to Cuban news agency Prensa Latina. The 1E10 monoclonal antibody, which is currently produced by the Cuban Centre of Molecular Immunology (CIM), recognizes antigens in human melanoma and breast tumors and subsequently inhibits tumor growth, in addition to reducing metastatic lung disease. (Global Insight Daily Analysis, 8/8/05)

August 23: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will provide Cuba with millions of dollars over the next three years to help improve quality of life and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS and to reinforce efforts to prevent the spread of the disease. The 14.6 million dollars to be contributed by the fund between 2005 and 2008 "entails direct benefits for the community," said María Julia Fernández, a Cuban woman who has been living with HIV - the virus that causes AIDS - for almost 20 years. A specialist at the National Centre for the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS, with many years of experience as a community health counsellor, Fernández now devotes all of her energies to providing support for individuals diagnosed as HIV-positive, she told IPS. The Global Fund will provide Cuba with a total of 26.1 million dollars over the 2005-2008 period, reported Raffaella Garutti of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who is responsible for overseeing the project's execution. Garutti told the press that the Cuban initiative is considered the best "of all the projects supported by the Fund in 133 countries." (IPS, 23/8/05)

August 30: The Bush administration backed away from claims that Cuba has an offensive biological weapons effort, acknowledging in a report to Congress that "there is a split view" among intelligence analysts on the question. The report says instead that Cuba has the "technical capability" to pursue biological weapons research and development because of its advanced pharmaceutical industry. But it leaves open the critical question of whether it has done so. The State Department report apparently marks the first time that the US government has publicly softened its earlier charge, which has been controversial from the outset. [US State Department Report] (The Miami Herald, 31/8/05)

September 26: A plant to produce humanized monoclonal antibodies to treat neck and head cancer, developed by Cuban scientists, opened in Beijing. The Chinese-Cuban Biotech Pharmaceutical Company will produce and commercialize hR-3 antibody, obtained by scientists of Cuba's Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM). The hR-3 has Cuban and Chinese medical registry plus patents issued in Canada, the US, China and various European countries. (Prensa Latina, 26/9/05)

October 6: The Chinese-Cuban Biotech Pharmaceutical Co. opened its Beijing factory on the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two socialist countries. According to the Cuban newspaper "Ahora", this facility will produce a monoclonal antibody to treat neck and head cancer. The German drug maker Oncoscience is also interested in this medicine. Two days before the Beijing plant was opened, a vaccine factory using Cuban technology started up in China's northeastern Jilin province. (London Guardian, 6/10/05)

November 10: A Cuban scientist who invented a synthetic vaccine against meningitis could not pick up a prestigious award in California because the State Department denied him a visa, the museum giving him the prize said. Vicente Vérez Bencomo was one of 25 scientists around the world honored by the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose for using technology to benefit mankind. Vérez was among 580 applicants for the award. (The Miami Herald, 10/11/05)

November 17: Cuba said it was considering researching a vaccine against bird flu, warning that antiviral drugs available today are barely enough to protect "the rich people in rich nations" from a pandemic. "We have taken the first steps to think about a possible vaccine for animals and humans," the deputy director of Cuba's Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Dr. Carlos Borroto, said. "We don't want to raise expectations because we are still studying this," he told reporters. Cuba has asked the World Health Organization for strains of the virus to begin work. Borroto said only two antiviral drugs made by multinational pharmaceutical firms had proved effective for bird flu, but were not being produced in sufficient quantities. (Reuters, 17/11/05)

November 26: US authorities blocked dozens of US experts from attending a major Cuban biotechnology conference that opens in Havana, its Cuban chairman said. Carlos Borroto, chairman of the Havana Biotechnology Conference 2005 which opens with some 550 specialists from 35 countries, said US authorities' lone exception was the permission to travel granted renowned US professor John Benemann. The United States and Cuba do not have full diplomatic ties, and the United States has had a full economic embargo on the only communist-ruled country in the Americas since 1962. (AFP, 26/11/05)

November 29: The 29th Congress of the Central American and Caribbean Pharmaceutical Federation opened at Havana's International Conference Center. During the event, Cuba detailed new vaccines and clinical trials, as well as described more than 40 years of research that has allowed pharmaceutical professionals to contribute knowledge to the improvement of health in Cuba and abroad. Dr. Eneida Pérez Santana, president of the Cuban Pharmaceutical Science Society and the organizing committee of the event, said that more than 300 delegates from 17 countries, including Cuba, participated in the Congress. (Granma International, 29/11/05)

December 1: Transgenic rice, sweet potatoes, corn and tomatoes are under study in Cuba. These products could be ready for the market in three years and its licenses would be given for free to poor countries to fight hunger, said one of the island's top scientists. Carlos Borroto, deputy director of Cuba's Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, anticipates that "in the next three or four years our transgenic crops meet all bio-safety requirements and can be commercialized." Borroto said that all the Cuban transgenic products are in a field study phase and none has yet hit the market. (Reuters, 1/12/05)

December 12: A working group for biotechnological cooperation between China and Cuba examined the possibilities of bilateral collaboration in Beijing. Representatives of the two countries began revising the work of each party in this field, to define common interest areas and joint projects. The meeting responds to a memorandum signed between China and Cuba in November 2004, when Chinese President Hu Jintao officially visited Cuba. This taskforce was created to strengthen institutional cooperation, foster collaboration in biotechnology, and study the establishment of joint ventures and research projects, among other activities. (Prensa Latina, 12/12/05)

December 22: Known as the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, or CIGB, the institute is one of 52 government facilities dedicated to human, animal and agricultural research that have recorded a string of successes. Using more than $1 billion in state funding, Cuban scientists have produced a hepatitis B vaccine sold in more than 30 countries and streptokinase, a potent enzyme that dissolves blood clots and improves the survival rate of heart attack victims. The country also makes recombinant interferon that strengthens the immune system of cancer patients and a meningitis B vaccine. In the pipeline are products ranging from an injection that closes ulcers and improves circulation in diabetics to vaccines against cholera and hepatitis C, according to Cuban officials. Yet the country's production of milk, beef and other foods has fallen even as its scientists embark on years-long efforts to produce genetically modified rice, corn and other crops that are disease resistant. (The Miami Herald, 22/12/05)