Blockade Disrupts Production of Medicine for Cuba’s National Health System

The U.S. government’s financial persecution of Cuba, added to the economic, commercial and financial blockade, limits the industry’s operations and development

Author: Susana Antón | [email protected]

April 27, 2021 08:04:24

Photo: Twitter

Directors of Cuba’s Biotechnological and Pharmaceutical Industries Enterprise Group (BioCubaFarma) denounced the impact on their research and production of the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed on Cuba by the U.S. government.

They reported that the criminal policy specifically affects the industry’s ability to acquire raw materials, spare parts and supplies to guarantee medicines for the National Health System, and limits the progress of research projects.

The directors noted that the cost of inputs needed to manufacture candidate anti-COVID vaccines has increased. They must now be purchased through third countries, since usual suppliers have declined to continue doing business with Cuba for fear of U.S. reprisals.

The industry is affected every year in terms of research, manufacturing and marketing of its products, and academic and scientific exchange is limited. The Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, for example, reported to Prensa Latina that, despite interest, it has not been able to export to the United States the medication Heberprot-p, the only treatment of its kind in the world for diabetic foot ulcers.