To strengthen health autonomy, boost national vaccine production and biomedical research, and establish advanced regulatory and certification standards, the Cuba-European Union Biotechnology Program (Biotec-Cuba) was officially launched.
The initiative, which improves access to innovative therapies and medicines for the Cuban population and the Latin American and Caribbean region, is divided into two projects: Strengthening R&D&I capacities in Cuba's biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, and Health regulation and innovation.
The first project, explained Catalina Álvarez Irarragorri, national director of the project and of the Mariel Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), proposes to expand the production capacity of drugs for local consumption and export. It also seeks to reduce the risks associated with serious childhood diseases.
With funding from the European Union, new technological and laboratory equipment will be introduced to complete the infrastructure of the BioCubaFarma biotechnology hub, Álvarez Irarragorri said.
The second line of action, developed in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization and the Ministry of Public Health, will lay the groundwork for strengthening the control laboratories of the National Regulatory Agency, with an emphasis on metrology and analytics compatible with international standards.
To this end, the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment, and Medical Devices (Cecmed) will be the national entity responsible for regulating medicines and vaccines, supporting technological and analytical development, and ensuring the international validation of export biopharmaceutical products.
ALLIANCES THAT RENEW HEALTH
One of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic was the need to strengthen regional health infrastructures and systems in the face of future health emergencies, which is why it is necessary to diversify the sources of production of medicines and vaccines, said Pedro Campo Llopis, head of EU cooperation on the island.
He emphasized that the creation of Biotec-Cuba will not only benefit technology transfer, but will also make it possible to calibrate the Cuban pharmaceutical industry and consolidate it in the regional market as an important partner.
In this regard, Santiago Dueñas Carrera, vice president of BioCubafarma, argued that this initiative will also boost the development of the business group, which has a portfolio of more than 400 research projects.
He added that CIGB-Mariel was selected as the program's headquarters due to its high installed capacity in terms of development and production.
"This type of contribution will allow the projects incorporated into the biotechnology industrial complex to advance more quickly," explained Dueñas Carrera.
