|
|
|
|
State investment has been made in this sector both to ensure supplies for the national healthcare system and in the expectation that they will become important export earners in the medium term. As well as providing most of the finance (over US$1bn since the late 1980s), the state sets the research agendas in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
The industry's institutions, which often combine research and production on the same site, are concentrated in the Western Havana Science Park, with 41 main research institutes. In 2000, a World Health Organization inspection approved Cuba's hepatitis B vaccine for use in the UN's vaccination campaign. Also included in Cuba's growing intellectual-property portfolio is the patent on a meningitis B vaccine, now undergoing further clinical trials with GlaxoSmithKline. Several other Canadian and European biotech firms have followed YMB's lead, licensing Cuban technology. Licensing / supply agreements have been reached or are in discussion with China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, South Africa, Iran, Algeria and Ghana. Export earnings were reported to be around US$300m in 2005, from sales to 50 countries (a large increase from US$ 60 million in 2003) Industry representatives claim that there are strong prospects for growth, with 150 patents registered, of which 66 are registered abroad, and more than 500 pending. They also report that there has been a steady increase in the rate at which new products are being brought to production. Recent announcements include development in vaccines for asthma and Hepatitis C, as well as clinical trials which could see the approval of Cuba's meningitis B vaccine. An agreement with CancerVax Corp in the US has reportedly hit problems due to red tape and financial issues there. Cuba has also received international attention for its use of natural remedies including scorpion venom which has reportedly met with certain success as an anti-cancer remedy. |
||
