So are the four vaccines that Cuba amazes with
HAVANA, Nov. 16th Cuba’s science and biotechnology are among the most advanced in the American continent,
and this has put the country in a privileged position regarding the development of the vaccine with respect to the rest of neighbouring countries.
They already have extensive experience in developing vaccines for other diseases, and to fight COVID-19 they have managed to launch four types in development. This week in Cuba A round table was held, in which the president of the BioCubaFarma business group, Eduardo Martínez Díaz, spoke, in charge of giving several keys to Cuba’s fight against the pandemic, according to Granma.cu.
In it, he stressed that soon Working groups were created to analyze all the new data that emerged on a daily basis.
The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, has shown full support for the investigations of the company, even calling for accelerated work, and as a result, they have been among the first countries to add up to four candidates.
All hopes in Sovereign 01 and 02
The first one is called Sovereign 01, although later Cuba opted for a very similar alternative, Sovereign 02As explained by Dr. Vicente Vérez Bencomo, general director of the Finlay Vaccine Institute: “The way was to diversify the alternatives to be able to overcome this challenge efficiently and clearly”. Both with the aim of introducing a high level of antibodies into the body.
Both use the same antigen, produced by the CHO cell and through biotechnology, with the intention of producing those antibodies. “We aspire to achieve, with a dose of one of the Soberana 01 formulations, to raise the defences of these asymptomatic people to prevent them from having a relapse,” commented the doctor.
For now, of Sovereign dose 01 it has been stated that safety is very high, that there is no significant adverse effect, and that more results are needed because five formulations have been made in more than one hundred people. For its part, de la Soberana 02, a vaccine in which the virus antigen and tetanus toxoid are combined, it has been concluded so far that one of its formulations elicits a powerful immune response.
The other candidates against the coronavirus
Dr. Vérez Bencomo confirmed the commitment that in the first semester of 2021 an important part of the Cuban population could be vaccinated. But nevertheless, Two new proposals have recently been added to combat the coronavirus, so that more elements are added to fulfil that promise.
The Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) delivered a few days ago the documentation to request registration, before the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices, of these two new candidates so that they can enter the clinical development phase.
One of them is called Mambisa (CIGB 669), which is administered intranasally. “Based on studies in primates, we found that this candidate has the ability to generate these antibodies and meets the rest of the objectives proposals ”, explained Eulogio Pimentel Vázquez, director of the CIGB.
On the other hand, is Abdala, administered intramuscularly, with which it is intended to conduct a clinical trial and evaluate its efficacy. It is the fourth alternative designed by Cuba, and with all of them, it is intended that the really effective one of the four can be found after conducting all the investigations in parallel.
(www.pledgetimes.com)
