The Cuban lung cancer vaccine CIMAvax-EGF recently obtained registration from the Ministry of Health of Belarus, for its use in that European nation.
According to official sources on the island, the drug developed by Cuba’s Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM) was certified by the Belarusian Healthcare Testing and Expertise Center, thus confirming the scientific collaboration between both countries.
After hearing the news, Cuban authorities have highlighted the registration of the vaccine, one of the most recognized medications in the Cuban biopharmaceutical industry, and the first patented and officially registered therapeutic lung cancer vaccine in the world.
The Cuban ambassador in Minsk, Santiago Pérez, considered it “an indisputable achievement of Cuban biotechnology in a country with such high and demanding standards,” Prensa Latina (PL) news agency reported.
In addition, he recalled that Belarus was also the first nation in Europe to register the Cuban Soberana COVID-19 vaccine.
For his part, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez celebrated that “Cuba’s biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector continues to reap great results,” despite the difficulties derived from U.S. sanctions.
CIMAvax-EGF, history and present
CIMAvax-EGF is the result of 30 years of research led by the CIM. It was evaluated in clinical trials for the first time in 1996 and, since then, several trials have been carried out to improve its formulation, immunization schedule, and efficacy.
It is a therapeutic vaccine, which means that it does not prevent the appearance of cancer, but rather helps in its treatment. The drug presents “favorable safety and effectiveness data,” both in the studies carried out inside and outside Cuba, as well as in its application at the different levels of health care on the island, according to experts.
In general, according to the tests carried out over the years, the vaccine has proven the increase the quality and life expectancy of treated patients.
The drug is also one of the focal points of scientific collaboration between Cuba and the United States, particularly between the CIM and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, in Buffalo, New York.
Since 2011, both institutions have collaborated in carrying out clinical studies of several products developed by the Cuban institution for the treatment of cancer, including CIMAvax-EGF.
Seven years later they came together to create a biotechnology joint venture called Innovative Immunotherapy Alliance, to research and develop new cancer drugs and therapies.
At that time, Roswell Park described the cooperative relations it maintains with Cuban scientists as “a historic journey,” specifically regarding the commercialization in the United States of the CIM therapeutic lung cancer vaccine.
That alliance is maintained today, and at the beginning of this year, a delegation from the U.S. center visited Cuba to expand collaboration with Cuban scientific institutions.
