RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The employees of the Cuban Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry Group (Biocubafarma) are currently working intensively in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and are developing research in various directions.
They are focusing on the development of drugs to boost the immune systems of high-risk individuals, on drugs with antiviral effects, and on drugs to prevent the death of seriously or critically ill patients.
The Biocubafarma is currently working on 15 projects to prevent and fight Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2.
Dr. Eduardo Martinez, President of the state-owned Biocubafarma said that in recent weeks two drugs that boost the immune system have been included in the protocol for the fight against the Covid-19 pulmonary disease: Biomodulin and a transfer factor.
In addition, a variant of interferon is being produced for nasal application, which is to be used preventively for the same purpose. In parallel, two broad-spectrum vaccines are already being tested to boost the immune system of people susceptible to viral infections.
Rita María García, the company’s Director of Operations and Technology, said that the company has prepared itself to ensure sufficient raw materials, stocks and spare components to produce the quantities required in the current epidemiological crisis.
This must be achieved despite the restrictions imposed by the US blockade against Cuba. The antiviral recombinant interferon alpha 2B is a leading product of Cuban biotechnology.
It is manufactured in China at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) and the Cuban-Chinese joint venture ChangHeber, where it is administered as a preventive measure to vulnerable health workers and Covid-19 patients.
Six clinical trials are currently underway in Cuba for the treatment of Covid-19 patients, six for prophylactic use in separate risk groups, two diagnostic kits and medical devices (artificial respirators), said Rolando Perez, Director of Science and Research at Biocubafarma. He explained that the body’s own defenses are the “first line of defense” against infection and that the immune system plays a key role in the course of the disease.
Consequently, most of the products the Cuban specialists are working on aim to strengthen it in order to reduce complications and the severity of the disease process and to prevent deaths.
The aforementioned drug Biomodulin has been shown to be effective in patients by preventing Covid-19 from progressing to severe stages, said Gerardo Guillen, director of biomedical research at the CIGB. The drug will be particularly beneficial for vulnerable groups such as people over 60 years of age, the chronically ill or people with weakened immune systems.
This is very significant as it is the first time that a pandemic is controlled through the adoption of isolation measures and a large part of the population is susceptible to the virus but is not exposed to it.
Therefore, even after the current crisis is over, new cases of infections may occur.