Díaz-Canel: “Thanks, CIGB, for the work and hope you give us”

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 1 (ACN) The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel, thanked today the work and results of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), which celebrates Thursday its 35th anniversary.

“Thank you, for the work and hope you give us, for [anti-COVID-19 vaccine candidates] Abdala and Mambisa,” the president wrote on his Twitter account, adding that the Center has done its duty by both Fidel Castro and all of Cuba.

Opened on July 1, 1986, the CIGB is a large research-productive compound equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, production capacity and a staff trained in the development of new products in all their stages.

The recombinant production of proteins and hormones, vaccines and diagnostic tools, the production of monoclonal antibodies, the use of biomass and its transformation by chemoenzymatic means, and the micropropagation of cells and tissue cultures are among its main lines of work.

Among the institution's leading products worldwide are Heberprot-P, highly effective in the healing of diabetic foot ulcers, which has benefited more than 250,000 patients around the world, and the Heberbiovac-HB vaccine against hepatitis B, registered in more than 35 countries.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, CIGB has played a key role in the fight against COVID-19 by creating vaccine candidates such as Abdala—92.28% effective—and Mambisa.