Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, June 24 – The Cuba-European Union Biotechnology Program (Biotec-Cuba) was officially launched to strengthen health autonomy, boost national vaccine production and biomedical research, and establish advanced regulatory and certification standards.
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 the R&D+I Capacities of the Cuban Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry, and Regulation and Innovation in Health.
The first project, explained Catalina Álvarez Irarragorri, national director of the project and of the Mariel Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), proposes expanding the production capacity of pharmaceuticals for local consumption and export. It also seeks to reduce the risks associated with serious childhood illnesses.
With funding from the European Union, new technological and laboratory equipment will be introduced to complete the infrastructure of the BioCubaFarma biotechnology cluster, Álvarez Irarragorri stated.
This first project is part of a joint effort between the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), BioCubaFarma, and the University of Havana.
The second line of action, developed in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization and the Ministry of Public Health, will provide the basis for strengthening the control laboratories of the National Regulatory Agency, with 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 biopharmaceutical products for export.
One of the lessons learned in the COVID-19 pandemic was the need to strengthen regional health infrastructures and systems for future health emergencies, and that is why it is necessary to diversify sources of production of medicines and vaccines, said Pedro Campo Llopis, head of EU Cooperation on the island.
Therefore, he emphasized that the creation of Biotec-Cuba will not only benefit technology transfer but will also make it possible to scale the Cuban pharmaceutical industry and consolidate it in the regional market, and 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 the CIGB-Mariel was selected as the program's headquarters due to its high installed capacities in development and production.
This type of contribution will allow projects that are incorporated into the biotechnology industrial complex to advance more quickly, said Dueñas Carrera. (Granma Digital) (Photo: Taken from Internet)
