Over 80 countries have been interested in acquiring Cuban medicine to tackle COVID-19

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 29 (ACN) More than 80 countries have shown interest in acquiring Recombinant Human Interferon Alpha 2b, demonstrating trust in the therapy's success in confronting the pandemic, Granma newspaper reported Wednesday.
Since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in March in Cuba, the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP by its Spanish acronym) has confirmed that the inclusion of the drug in the treatment protocols shows positive results.
Details of the effectiveness of the medicine, obtained at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB by its Spanish acronym) in the second half of the 1980s, are provided by Dr. Eulogio Pimentel Vazquez, general director of that institution, which belongs to the BioCubaFarma Business Group.
According to the doctor, according to the protocol established by MINSAP, this product, in combination with other drugs, is used in the specific case of confirmed patients, and not in those who present a serious or critical condition.
 Data revealed by the ministry, at the close of April 14, show that 93.4 percent of the patients who were carriers of Sars-Cov-2 had been treated with Heberon (commercial name of Recombinant Human Interferon Alpha 2b).
  "Only 5.5 percent reached the serious condition. The death rate reported by MINSAP on that date was 2.7 percent, while for patients, in whom this drug was used, it was 0.9 percent.
The figures show that the protocol in our country is effective, and interferon plays a role in the results, Pimentel Vazquez said.
"About its use in the world, the doctor affirmed that important reports of preclinical and clinical evidence have appeared in different countries. One of the most recent scientific articles refers to a study carried out in Wuhan, China, regarding its use in medical personnel.
 Out of the people included in the research, 2,944 received the drug and 3,387 did not. Fifty percent of those not treated contracted the disease, while there were none among those who benefited from the drug," the article concluded.