Cuban biotechnology 2008-- a news chronology (From stories compiled by FOCAL, The Canadian Foundation for the Americas)
January 9: Cuban scientists will soon begin the phase of clinical study of a potential vaccine against the HIV virus, a scientific source announced. Speaking with local reporters in a press conference, Eduardo Martinez, Director of Technological Development at the Center of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (CIGB), said that the product "is still under research, but it should be on the phase of clinical study next year." According to Juventud Rebelde newspaper, Martinez added that the safety of the product has already been tested "in animal models with very encouraging results." (CAN, 10/1/08)
January 23: Over 51 million doses of a Cuban vaccine against brain and spinal meningitis have been applied in dozens of countries since it was discovered by Cuban doctors, nearly 20 years ago. Dr. Concepcion Campa Huergo, director of the Carlos J. Finlay Pharmaceutical Institute, said the medicine called Va-Mengoc-BC is the only one of its type in the world used to counteract the effects of all forms of brain and spinal cord meningitis, a highly deadly disease that develops in the form of rashes. Campa Huergo discussed the impact of the vaccine with close to 900 experts from several countries at a conference in Havana. (ACN, 23/1/08) February 6: A national seminar to promote the use of the Cuban asthma vaccine ‘Valergem’ was inaugurated in Havana province. The event, that has a scientific-educational nature, takes place at the National Center of Bio-Preparations (BIOCEN) and it aims at promoting the use of the first therapeutic vaccine developed on the island to treat asthma, a very common health problem among Cubans. (ACN, 6/2/08) February 26: Experts from Venezuela and Cuba are developing research to genetically diagnose people with physical disabilities, in an initiative aimed at determining illness causes and the necessary treatment, official sources reported. Venezuelan Participation and Social Protection Minister Erika Farias said the work started in the state of Miranda in 2007, and has been extended to such other states as Barinas, Zulia, and Delta Amacuro. People that are already located by the Barrio Adentro Mission are genetically assessed within that system, she told Venezolana de Television. The official said the initiative involves house-by-house actions with Cuban medical equipment, social workers and specialized physicians. (Prensa Latina, 26/2/08) March 5: A biotechnology center is expected to be created in Mozambique with the technical and scientific support of Cuba, according to a report in the Mozambican newspaper Notícias, citing Science and Technology Minister, Venâncio Massingue. The paper said that the move had been announced in Havana, as part of the official three-day visit by Mozambican president Armando Guebuza to Cuba, at the invitation of his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro. According to Massingue, who is part of the presidential delegation, Mozambique is expected soon to send technicians to Cuba to specialize in biotechnology. Two Cuban technicians are currently in Mozambique, working in the district of Moamba, in the area of animal husbandry. (MacauHub, 5/3/08) March 16: Cuban doctors are treating circulatory ailments with innovative adult stem cell techniques, the official newspaper Juventud Rebelde reported. Cuban researchers first tested treating circulatory ailments with stem cell techniques in 2002 in a Havana clinic, as stem cells have the ability to regenerate tissue. The technique is now being used in four Cuban regions. Doctors are also studying the possibility of using the technique in treating eye ailments like pterygium, a fleshy growth in the eye caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet light. (Xinhua, 16/3/08) March 31: The governments of Brazil and Cuba started a cooperation agreement to strengthen actions in the surveillance of medications. The document said the society needs knowledge on the fields of pharmaceutics, medication inspection, bio-equivalence, clinic investigation and fighting falsification. Dirceu Raposo de Mello, president of the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency of Brazil, and Rafael Perez, director of the Center for Medication Quality Control of Cuba, signed the agreement in the presence of Cuban Ambassador to Brasilia, Pedro Nunez Mosquera. Perez said that the agreement is a result of the visit of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to Cuba and a mutual cooperation relation between the two agencies, to strengthen links between Cuban and Brazilian institutions. (Prensa Latina, 31/3/08) April 14: Cuban National Bio-preparation Center researchers are involved in the making of a compound used in Cuba to counteract proliferation of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, transmitter of dengue disease. The new biological control emerged from the work by Cuban scientists to protect people from the transmitting agent's effects. The new product, patented by LABIOFAM Laboratories and made of natural substances, is called BACTIBE and biologically eliminates the Aedes Aegypti, which affects around 50 million people in tropical areas of the world, according to the United Nations Organization. (AIN, 14/4/08) |
