United Nations, October 9 (RHC)-- Strategic and prestigious Cuban industries such as biopharma are currently facing great harm due to the US blockade on the island, denounced the Cuban mission to the UN in a press statement.

The text states that the sector is affected every year with economic losses of millions in research, development, production and marketing of its products.

It added that U.S. measures against Cuba not only limit academic and scientific exchange but also deprive Americans of the benefits of biotechnology and pharmaceutical products developed on the Caribbean island, which are novel and promising for human health.

Due to the blockade, the import-export company Farmacuba reported difficulties in obtaining raw materials for the manufacturing of medicines.

In addition, from April 2018 to March 2019, interruptions in the production process occurred in the 8 de Marzo Cuban drug company due to the impossibility of acquiring the necessary raw material with the required periodicity. Approximately 2,000 oral suspension units and 61,184 capsules were discontinued.

Meanwhile, a drug manufacturer from an Asian country reported that it could not ship the injectable Phenytoin 250mg/5ml to Cuba because the banks of its  nation rejected the processing of documents related to the island for fear of being sanctioned by the U.S. government.

According to the Cuban mission at the UN, this situation led to the search for another supplier in Latin America under less favorable conditions.

According to the report 'Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba', the value of the damages caused to production and service sectors on the island, from April 2018 to March 2019, was of 79 million dollars.

This represents a 28 percent increase over the same period last evaluated period.