Cigar, Rum and Biotechnology…
In addition to all its touristic and nostalgic charm, Cuba has accelerated its scientific development so much that you cannot help but get information about it even during a routine holiday visit. Just as they showed visitors around the stadium in Barcelona, Cuba may soon include medical centers in the show. Because their stories are truly impressive. During my last visit, I listened to Ricardo Perez from the Carlos Finlay Institute, he told me about the developments in the field of biotechnology in Cuba.
Until the revolution, there was not enough money for health, education and scientific studies in Cuba. Aside from that, there were only 3000 doctors and 2 universities for the 8 million Cuban population at that time. The need for a resource to support the economic development of Cuba, which is not very rich in terms of natural resources, gives another inspiration to Fidel Castro; The country's biggest investment for the future must be its human resources... This idea prepares the roots of the rich human resources we encounter today.
The 1960s were like a revolution within a revolution for Cuba; Efforts are being made to open new universities and new departments in these universities and to establish new units everywhere to conduct post-graduate research. Graduates are sent to countries such as Japan, France and Germany for education, and these people return to their countries…
In 1965, the first research center was established entirely with Cuban own resources; “Cuban Scientific Research Center”. New centers are constantly starting to emerge from this center, always showing a multi-disciplinary structure and creating an integrated network between them. This formation is called the "Biological Front".
At the end of the seventies, Fidel Castro's idea was that Cuba would be a country self-sufficient in medicine; Because the country is under American embargo, buying from Europe, China or India is very expensive. It does not take long for them to see that they can go much further than this target, and after a while, they become able to help poor countries such as Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Continued between the nineties and 2010. continues to evolve and grow; on the scientific front While R&D studies continue, the pharmaceutical industry is developing rapidly on the radiopharmaceutical front. In 2011, these two legs were combined to form the "Kuba Biofarma" group of companies. Today, there are 38 companies and 20 thousand employees within Cuba Biofarma. Until 2010, all these companies had to conduct their relations with foreign countries through the Cuban Government, but with the establishment of Cuba Biofarma, direct international relations begin and thus trade can be carried out faster and more efficiently.
Children are dying, but there is no meningococcal vaccine!
Some of the scientists trained since the sixties are motivated to work to produce a vaccine. The vaccines produced were first tested on the employees themselves and their children, then they were patented by both the Cuban Government and the World Health Organization, and since 1988, the meningitis vaccine began to be used successfully all over the world. However, when there is demand from other Latin American countries, efforts are made to increase capacity rapidly. They manage to stop the meningitis epidemic in all Latin American countries by producing and selling more than 50 million vaccines in the first year. The money earned from the vaccine is transferred directly to the research, development and commercialization of new drugs in the field of biotechnology.
While developing the biological front network, more emphasis is placed on education and the "West Havana Scientific Club" ” is being created. At that time, this club consisted of approximately 50 institutes. While it is the knowledge and experience of Cuban biologists that determine the theoretical approach, the technology is provided by the USA and France; In short, non-existent drugs are being tested with existing technology. As a result of all this work, new institutes are emerging all over the country; The most important of these is the “Cuban Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology”. This institute is also developing the pentavalent vaccine against diphtheria, acellular pertussis, polio and Hib infections, and two important vaccines with a success rate of around 70% in diabetic patients...
In 2012, it was developed against lung cancer. With the vaccine they developed and patented against, a brand new source of income is added to cigars, rum and tourism; biotechnology …
Although it cannot stand out much due to the propaganda against the country, many important companies in the world are forced to sit at the same table and negotiate with Biyo Kuba. In addition, Biyo Cuba becomes the only company that can contact and trade directly with foreign companies without government intermediation. As a result, a history of biotechnology is created, with its own resources, its own culture and discipline, and developing despite the suffocating American embargo.
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