Havana, January 15 (RHC)-- Advances in biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry in the qualitative improvement of vaccines and medicines for the treatment of several diseases are among the main results of Cuban Science Day.
As every January 15 since 1960, the Caribbean island exhibits its most relevant results in the field of science, technology and innovation during the previous year and in 2023, those linked to the biopharmaceutical sector, sustainable agriculture, food security, energy generation, territorial development and climate change stood out.
In this regard, the results of the clinical trials carried out with the anti-pneumococcal vaccine candidate in the pediatric population from one to five years of age to test how to protect healthy children and others with risk diseases and chronic conditions in the central province of Cienfuegos stand out.
It is Quimi-Vio, created by the Finlay Vaccine Institute, which protects against seven of the most infectious and highly prevalent serotypes of the pneumococcus bacteria, the pathogen that causes most pneumonia and bacterial meningitis in children worldwide.
They also distinguish the new benefits provided by Jusvinza, a molecule obtained by scientists from the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, which was one of the successful drugs against COVID-19.
Now this innovative drug offers great possibilities for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and diseases mediated by hyperinflammation, characteristics for which in 2023 the national regulatory authority will grant it the sanitary registration for its medical use, although conditioned to a phase III clinical trial, which has already begun.
The relevant tests on the use of Jusvinza in the treatment of Severe Community Pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome are also being developed.
In relation to food security and sovereignty, projects are underway in several municipalities that favor the use of mycorrhizal biofertilizers in food crops, as well as new pastures and forages to support the sustainable management of livestock and dairy production.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, Elba Rosa Peréz Montoya recently stated in a press conference that 2023 was a year of many satisfactory results and performances in the sector, thanks to the progress in the implementation of the Science and Innovation based Government Management.
This allowed, she said, the creation of two technology parks and the categorization of six entities as high-tech companies: Molecular Immunology Center, Immunoassay Center, Neuroscience Center of Cuba, AICA Laboratories Company, Finlay Institute of Vaccines and Information Technology and Advanced Telematic Services Company.
The Minister highlighted how the implementation of the system of science and innovation programs and projects marks an important milestone in the transformation of this activity, which is strengthened with 17 national, 56 sectorial and 63 territorial programs.
Pérez Montoya emphasized that the development of science has to have a greater impact on the economic, social and environmental development of the nation. "We cannot be satisfied with the number of projects; the issue is not quantitative, but qualitative and with tangible results that can be sustainable over time," he said.
And that is precisely what will be celebrated this Cuban Science Day, a day in which the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro's phrase will be remembered: "the future of our homeland must necessarily be a future of men of science..." (Source: Prensa Latina).
