http://www.granma.cu/ingles/cuba-i/9junio-It%20all%20began.html
Havana. June 9, 2011 CUBAN BIOTECNOLOGY It all began with interferon . Over the last three decades since the production of interferon in Cuba began, the country has developed other variants used in the treatment of viral illnesses and cancer LILLIAM RIERA On May 28, 1981, Cuban scientists took the first steps in the development of biotechnology within the country, producing leukocyte interferon, a molecule obtained from blood, with applications in the treatment of vital illnesses and cancer. Today, as a result of continual development and improvement of this product, new variants have been derived: recombinant human Alfa 2b and the latest, pegylated interferon. Eduardo Martínez, director of the technology development unit of the Genetic and Biotechnology Engineering Center (CIGB) explained to Granma that pegylated interferon - distributed commercially as PEG-Heberon - was derived from the chemical modification of a molecule, permitting the creation of an advantageous nano-structure which reduces the number of injections required from three to only one, increasing the drug's effectiveness and moderating side effects. The new medication was developed by CIGB specialists and is used in the treatment of chronic Hepatitis types B and C. Martínez reported that the distribution throughout the public health system of PEG-Heberon, trademarked in Cuba, began towards the end of 2010, supplied free of charge to those who need it. Large pharmaceutical transnational corporations have also produced pegylated interferon and are selling it at a price of more than $100 a dose. Sergio Pérez, Heber Biotec S.A. sales manager, indicated that the process of registering PEG-Heberon on an international level has been initiated, looking to its future commercialization. Heber Biotec S.A. is the exclusive sales agent distributing biotechnology and pharmaceutical products created by the CIGB and other important institutes and laboratories, as well as technical services and research and development projects, to countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. The company offers more than 200 registered health products, approved in more than 52 countries and has signed distribution agreements with companies around the world. Heber Biotec S.A. and the CIGB together comprise a fully integrated entity, providing research, development, production and sales. The CIGB was founded on July 1, 1981, as part of the Scientific Center west of Havana and has played a vanguard role in Cuban biological sciences, with its greatest asset being a highly qualified and dedicated staff, committed to the development of new products to improve the quality of human life, and others serving agricultural and veterinary purposes. Also among products sold by Heber Biotec S.A. is recombinant human Alfa 2b interferon - distributed under the name Heberon Alfa R - which is produced through genetic engineering techniques and has shown consistent results in its anti-viral and anti-proliferation effects. (It inhibits the development of carcinogenic cells.) Prescribed for the treatment of Hepatitis, types B and C and certain types of cancer - although also an excellent option in the case of immunological diseases - this Cuban biotechnology product is sold in more than 20 countries, according to Martínez. The production of leukocyte interferon was the starting point for the development of the biotechnology industry in Cuba, a Third World country moreover facing a cruel and unjust blockade imposed by the United States for over 50 years. Cuba has thus established itself as a member of a select group of countries which have accomplished the production of this molecule, which at this time is of special interest given its anti-tumor potential in its natural form (as a leukocyte) and the expectation that it will be produced as a recombinant, that is through genetic engineering techniques. Martínez recalled that in that very first year, 1981, leukocyte interferon was used in eye drops in Cuba, to confront an epidemic of hemorrhagic conjunctivitis which erupted in the country. FIDEL'S VISION Leukocyte interferon was first produced in a little house close the building now occupied by CIGB, by a group of six Cuban experts, implementing an idea of Fidel's, in what has become a story treasured by generations of Cuba scientists. Verena Muzio, head of CIGB's biomedical research department recalls that the idea occurred to Fidel after a meeting with a U.S. scientist who had made comments about interferon and its potential. As the story goes, Fidel decided to make the necessary contacts to allow a group of Cubans to be trained in a Finnish laboratory where the molecule had been isolated and, upon their return, they began to work on the project. One of the group's members, Eduardo Pentón, recalls that stage of intense effort and Fidel's daily visits, giving the project priority attention. Fidel was able to foresee what it could mean for Cuba if the country were able to produce a molecule with biotechnology and the repercussions this would have, in the long-term, for the country's public health, according to the scientist who is still active in the direction of CIGB's biomedical research. The scientists recalled that in January of 1982, the Biological Research Center - the CIGB's precursor - was founded, where this initial group and others who joined them from various other institutions and universities, began to work, in a comprehensive fashion, on issues of genetic engineering and molecular biology, leading to the production of recombinant interferon. For those interviewed, the results of these 30 years of Cuban biotechnology, which has been described by the prestigious British magazine Nature as the best in all of the Third World, have confirmed the viability of Fidel's visionary idea. 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