Cuban biotechnology is one of the most significant outcomes of a science policy formulated more than four decades ago by the Cuban Revolution. Its advancement was closely linked to the strategic vision of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, who wisely understood that a small country, lacking substantial natural resources, blockaded by the world's leading superpower, and facing severe limitations in accessing advanced technologies, had to transform education, research, and the talent of its scientists into a source of sovereignty and prosperity. This strategy began with the establishment of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in 1986, exactly 40 years ago, and the subsequent development of the Havana Science Hub, which together formed a system integrating research, production, and the application of its results for the benefit of the people. Thanks to this strategy and the invaluable impetus from Fidel Castro, Cuba has been able to develop new vaccines and medicines to treat a wide range of diseases, with significant social impact. Among the achievements and milestones of Cuban biotechnology are the development of recombinant interferons, the creation of the hepatitis B vaccine, the meningococcal vaccine VA-MENGOC-BC, combination vaccines such as Heberpenta-L, and therapeutic products such as Heberprot-P, used to treat complex diabetic foot ulcers and which helps prevent lower limb amputations in diabetic patients. In the field of oncology, CIMAvax-EGF, an immunotherapy for certain patients with advanced lung cancer, and Nimotuzumab, a monoclonal antibody used to treat various tumors, stand out. Other biotechnological products dedicated to infectious, autoimmune, and neurological diseases are also part of this progress. The results achieved demonstrate that the focus has not been solely on manufacturing existing medicines, but rather on developing specialized products and technologies capable of responding to the specific needs of the population. The COVID-19 pandemic put the entire system established in the 1980s to the test, and significant results were achieved. Cuba developed five vaccine candidates—Soberana 01, Soberana 02, Soberana Plus, Abdala, and Mambisa—and was able to convert several of them into vaccines used in its national immunization campaign. Abdala, developed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) using recombinant protein technology, and the Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus vaccines, developed by the Finlay Vaccine Institute, represented a scientific response to a global health emergency. The trials demonstrated the value of the capabilities accumulated over decades of scientific development in Cuba. Cuban research has also ventured into one of the major challenges of modern medicine: neurodegenerative diseases. NeuroEPO, marketed as NeuralCIM, has developed research aimed at treating mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Clinical studies are yielding encouraging results, and research continues. This is further complemented by research in other areas, such as therapeutic vaccines, drugs for autoimmune diseases, and new cancer treatments, demonstrating the breadth of the scientific platform established on the Caribbean island. All of Cuba's achievements and progress in the field of biotechnology applied to health take on a special dimension because they were attained after more than six decades of the US economic, commercial, and financial embargo, amidst difficulties in obtaining funding, technologies, equipment, raw materials, and other necessities. For this very reason, the decision to develop its own capabilities had an economic and political dimension, in addition to its scientific one: for Cuba, producing vaccines and medicines meant reducing some forms of external dependence and maintaining its capacity to respond to emergencies. Thus, biotechnology became a tangible expression of the idea championed by Fidel, namely that science and knowledge could constitute strategic resources for a nation. The social impact of the achievements of Cuban science during these forty years of history is priceless. It has translated into vaccines to protect populations, drugs to treat cancer, therapeutic alternatives for diabetes complications, new research to combat Alzheimer's disease, as well as training thousands of highly specialized professionals and creating a scientific infrastructure to serve the national health system. Fidel Castro's work in this field should be understood as the political and strategic impetus that created the conditions for this development. At the same time, the results are the fruit of the labor of generations of scientists, doctors, engineers, technicians, and workers. In a country subjected for decades to severe external restrictions, Cuban biotechnology represents, above all, more than just a list of medicines; it represents the transformation of science into an instrument for health, sovereignty, and social responsiveness. • By the Cuban Ambassador to Kuwait, Alan Perez Torres
https://www.aljarida.com/article/143886