Cuba’s Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center (CIGB) and the University of Havana have signed an agreement to work together to create a Nano Biomed laboratory, which will primarily focus on conducting innovative projects related to the design and development of pharmaceuticals.
After signing the document, which formalizes the lab’s constitution, Dr. Marta Ayala Avila, Party Political Bureau member and director of the CIGB, and the university’s rector, Miriam Nicado Garcia, emphasized that the emergence of the institution is the result of the progress made in research undertaken by the two institutions and a reflection of the necessary integration between the University and enterprises, in line with the country’s socio-economic Policy Guidelines and the call made by Party First Secretary and President Miguel Diaz-Canel to strengthen these alliances.
Staff at the facility will work with innovative drugs created by the CIGB and others developed by different scientific entities around the country, including the Center for Research and Development of Medicines and the Center for Bioactive Chemicals at Marta Abreu Central University of Las Villas.
According to information provided to the press, the university’s Chemistry Department will contribute its experience in the development of nanoparticles, which will improve biodistribution of medications in the body, their stability and controlled release, which will have a positive impact reducing adverse side effects, as well as the number and frequency of doses to be administered.
Molecules are already under investigation for drugs to treat cancer and cardiovascular diseases, as well as antiviral compounds against the dengue and zika viruses, antibiotics and antifungals.
