CUBA JOINS THE RACE FOR VACCINE AGAINST THE CORONAVIRUS WITH SOBERANA-01
According to the director of biomedical research at CIGB, Gerardo Guillen, Cuban research is focused “on developing vaccines using virus-resembling particles that are potentially able to activate and strengthen people’s immune system.” Such vaccines, which are usually administered after infection, are known as therapeutic vaccines.
HAVANA - Cuba has a lot of experience in vaccine research. The Caribbean island is current- ly working on one against the novel coronavirus called Soberana-01, while Russia is planning to have its own vaccine produced in Cuba.
Cuba is the first country in Latin America to register a vaccine against Covid-19. Up until recently, Cuba had han- dled the pandemic quite effi- ciently. However, over the past couple days, the Caribbean island has reported a rising number of people infected by the novel coronavirus.
This is why last week the government imposed a fresh lockdown for Havana. Restaurants and bars were closed again. Public transport ground to a halt and beaches were cordoned off. People be- lieve that only an efficient vac- cine against SARS-CoV-2 can bring long-term relief.
The head of epidemiology at Cuba’s public health ministry, Francisco Duran, announced yesterday that the country was working on such a vaccine. “Finding an efficient vaccine to fight Covid-19 is a top priority for our science and innovation system,” he told reporters in Havana.
Rolando Perez, direc- tor of science and innova- tion at Cuban biotech firm BioCubaFarma added that in the face of the pandem- ic, Cuba now had two priori- ties: “To develop enough ca- pacities for quick mass testing so as to be able to analyse the spread of the virus and devel- op specific vaccines to fight the disease in our country,” he said.
The president of BioCubaFarma, Eduardo Martinez, said on Twitter that “a look at the nation’s Finlay Institute showed how much progress could be made in this field in a very short time.” The Finlay Institute is a state-run science centre in Havana dedicated to research on and the production of vaccines.
Cuba no stranger to vaccine research
“Cuba produces almost 80 percent of the vaccines used within the national immuni- sation programme – there’s the Finlay Institute plus a big technology and innovation sector we can fall back on,” Jose Moya, the director for Cuba of the Pan American Health Organisation, said in a statement.
At CIGB, a centre for molec- ular immunology and genetic engineering and biotechnolo- gy, Cuban scientists are cur- rently working on four potential vaccines, with testing already in an advanced phase, state media report.
According to the director of biomedical research at CIGB, Gerardo Guillen, Cuban research is focused “on
developing vaccines using vi- rus-resembling particles that are potentially able to activate and strengthen people’s im- mune system.” Such vaccines, which are usually adminis- tered after infection, are known as therapeutic vaccines.
In an interview Guillen cit- ed as an example the thera- peutic vaccine developed in Cuba meant to fight chronic hepatitis B. Globally, it was the first vaccine against a chronic infectious disease that was ad- ministered through the nose.
“Now that we are again talking about a respiratory dis- ease (Covid-19), we believe that immunising the mucous membranes may have the most efficient impact when it comes to neutralising the vi- rus,” he says.
In contrast to many oth- er developing nations, Cuba has a strong biotech sec- tor and laboratories of its own. The experience that the
nation has accumulated over the years in developing vac- cines now comes in handy in research on SARS-CoV-2. And it makes the country in- teresting for cross-border cooperation. Guillen has pointed to joint research pro- jects with the EU and China.
Media reports suggest that Cuba is among the group of nations that would be capable of jointly producing the coro- navirus vaccine developed by Russian scientists, named Sputnik V. The announce- ment of the vaccine last week made a splash worldwide but has also drawn criticism as crucial phase III clinical test- ing was skipped. Cuba is not expected to risk the same, known as it is for strictly ad- hering to WHO regulations.
“Cuba has excellent abilities to produce vaccines,” says the director of the state-owned Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev.
“We believe that Cuba can become one of the world’s most important cen- tres for the production of vaccines,” he told DW.
According to Dmitriev, pro- duction of the Russian vaccine could start in Cuba as early as November, provided coopera- tion with the government and the companies involved will advance according to plan.
The details of the deal have yet to be hammered out. Cuban epidemiologist Duran warns that despite the an- nouncement of the Russian vaccine and the progress made so far in research on SARS-CoV-2, an efficient vac- cine will not be available in huge quantities anytime soon.
“Let’s remain realistic,” he says, and adds: “For the time being,” he added, “the only effective protection against the virus is to wear a mask and observe hygiene and distanc- ing rules.”
Now that we are again talking about a respiratory disease (Covid-19), we believe that immunising the mucous membranes may have the most efficient impact when it comes to neutralising the virus.