Cuba and Brazil to boost collaboration in health and science

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 6 (ACN) With the reactivation of the Brazil-Cuba Binational Management Committee (CGBBC by its Spanish acronym), which has been meeting since last Monday in Havana, both countries have been advocating for boosting cooperation in health, science, innovation and the regulatory area of medicines, equipment and medical devices.

The meeting was headed by Jose Angel Portal Miranda and Eduardo Martinez, Cuban Ministers of Public Health (Minsap) and Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA by its Spanish acronym), respectively, Carlos Gadhela, Deputy Minister of Health in Brazil, and Christian Vargas, Ambassador to Havana, who agreed that this is a new stage of work for the benefit of the two countries and marks a milestone in the field of health science.

Also in attendance were representatives of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries of Cuba and Brazil, their health portfolios, regulatory authorities and clinical trial development authorities.

Portal Miranda pointed out as strategic tasks for this period the transfer and technological evaluation of products with high health impact, joint clinical studies, development of intervention projects and facilitating a greater environment for scientific collaboration and knowledge management.

The head of CITMA presented the potential of the Cuban biotechnological and pharmaceutical industry, the vaccine projects against pneumococcus, dengue and human papilloma in which some of its institutions are working, the development of innovative products such as interferons, monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutic immunogens, used in the treatment of cancer.

He also mentioned industry-leading products, among which Heberprot-P for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers stands out, given the incidence of this pathology in Latin America, and the broad portfolio of drugs of natural origin, which could benefit the Brazilian population.

For his part, Deputy Minister Gadhela pointed out Brazil's interest in resuming ties with the Island, due to the contributions of Caribbean health professionals in the improvement of health indicators in his country and how the transfer of Cuba's technological platform to the South American giant 20 years ago favored the production of the first totally Brazilian vaccine against covid-19.

In line with what was expressed by Mayda Mauri, president of BioCubaFarma, she stated that this stage of joint work aims at producing health in a sustainable way, and for that, science and economy must also be connected.

During this first meeting of the CGBBC, with more than a decade of existence, the signing of MOUs between the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries of both nations, the regulatory entities and a final act that will reflect the work actions for the coming years are expected to be signed.