Cuba’s new special drug therapy for intractable diseases that you don’t know about.

　　Cuba’s citizens are well known for free medical care, and the medical institutions in this Caribbean island country have also developed some new special medicine treatments, which have enabled many patients to find here from Wan Li, not far from all over the world. Treating intractable diseases has become another feature of Cuban medical care.

　　[Special medicine for auxiliary treatment of lung cancer]

　　CIMAvax-EGF, an adjuvant drug for lung cancer, is a unique drug developed by Cuban Center for Molecular Immunology and registered in 2008. It can strengthen the human immune system and give chemotherapy time to respond, thus improving the treatment effect of lung cancer.

　　Eduardo Osito, deputy director of the Cuban Center for Molecular Immunology, said that the research and development of CIMAvax-EGF exhausted the efforts of the first generation of scientists in the center. It is mainly composed of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and another protein P64K. Cuban medical personnel realize that EGF molecules play a very important role in the process of tumor evolution. "CIMAvax-EGF does not directly kill cells, but it can make them hungry by preventing EGF from attaching to the cell’s self-sensor," Osito said. "This correlation is the key to prevent cell growth and proliferation."

　　Unlike many other cancer therapies that have serious side effects, patients who use CIMAvax-EGF have a good tolerance to drugs. According to Osito, 30% of patients treated with this drug have significantly improved their quality of life.

　　In view of the current treatment situation of the drug, scientists believe that it is likely to have potential curative effect on cancer cells such as head and neck cancer and colon cancer that depend on EGF growth.

　　Cuba’s national medical system used this special medicine for the first time in 2012, and thousands of patients have benefited so far. At present, four countries use this medicine.

　　In January this year, Roseveare Park Cancer Institute cooperated with Cuba, and the drug began clinical trials in the United States, and it is planned to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the American market.

　　[Gold Award-winning Diabetes Drugs]

　　Heberprot-P is a new special medicine introduced by Cuba in 2006 for treating diabetic foot ulcers. Its appearance has saved a large number of patients from amputation.

　　The medicine is a unique product developed by Jorge Bellanga, a Cuban scientist, and the team of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. It contains the active pharmaceutical ingredient of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and works by direct infiltration or injection into the injured area.

　　Dr. Manuel Raisez, a member of the research team of the Center, said: "With each injection, amino acids and protein compounds can differentiate cells, and healthy and energetic tissues begin to be injected into the ulcer site. After an average of about three months, the wound is completely healed."

　　In 2007, Cuba built a clinic specializing in treating diabetic foot ulcers, but the demand far exceeded expectations. The Cuban Ministry of Health decided to start a national treatment project, and there are 458 specialized clinics at present.

　　Laissez said: "This makes our current diabetes amputation rate in the world the lowest, only 3.8%." He said that there are nearly 1 million diabetic patients in Cuba, and there are about 35,000 cases of diabetic foot ulcers every year. In 2016, only 480 cases were actually amputated.

　　Laissez and scientists from the Center have given lectures on the drug and its use in more than 20 countries, including Russia, Kuwait, Algeria, Argentina, Ecuador and Venezuela. At present, Heberprot-P has been registered in 23 countries and has been effectively used in 10 countries.

　　The implementation of this project in Cuba has been internationally recognized. It was launched to the international market 10 years ago and won the gold medal of intellectual property rights awarded by the World Health Organization.

　　[biopharmaceuticals become Cuban characteristics]

　　The research and development of new special drugs reflects the achievements of Cuba in developing medical biotechnology industry for many years. Dengue fever in the early 1980s prompted Cuba to develop Interferon；, which can stop potential viruses. In 1990, the hepatitis B recombination vaccines was developed, which almost eliminated hepatitis B in Cuba. A single dose vaccine called Heberpenta can protect against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and influenza B.

　　Other famous drugs developed in Cuba include Pentavalente for treating virus infection, Estreptokinasa for treating heart disease, PPG for treating cholesterol disease, Nimotuzumab for treating head and neck cancer, Eritropoyetina Human Recombinants for chronic anemia and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (g-csf) in leukemia patients.

　　Cuba has also developed many botanical drugs. The Natural Medicine Center under the National Scientific Research Center of Cuba uses palm tree fruit extract to make drugs for treating benign prostatic hypertrophy; Extracted from local wild plants in Cuba and made into drugs for autoimmune diseases; Abexol；, an antioxidant drug with anti-aging effect made from purified beeswax extract; Calcium supplement Suplecal；; Prevenox； for treating osteoporosis; PPG for controlling cholesterol level made from sugarcane extract, etc.

　　[Special medicine breeds medical tourism]

　　In the 1990s, in order to reverse the huge impact on Cuba’s economy after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Cuban government made great efforts to develop the tourism industry in order to obtain the foreign exchange badly needed by the country. With Cuba’s opening up to foreign tourists, tourists found that Cuba had a high success rate in treating many diseases, some of which were even better than their own countries, and medical tourism came into being.

　　Established in 1987, Cuban Medical Service Agency (SMC) mainly provides medical services for foreigners. Dr. Ianna Alvarez, director of the agency’s sales department, told reporters that SMC has signed agreements or established strategic partnerships with about 41 countries, that is to say, SMC has cooperative relations with some institutions, medical insurance companies, service export units or clinics that transport patients to Cuba for treatment.

　　Patients who come to Cuba for treatment through SMC come from all over the world, including Canada, Europe, the United States, Central America and South America. The needs of patients in Cuba are different. Many Canadian patients come to Cuba for cosmetic or plastic surgery, such as lumbar replacement, hip replacement, knee prosthesis and other treatments. Such operations need to wait for a long time in many countries; Central and South American patients come to receive nervous system treatment; Europeans mainly come to perform various eye operations and treat psoriasis, lung cancer or foot ulcers with drugs developed by Cuba …

　　Because patients come to Cuba for treatment through different channels, SMC does not have complete data, but one thing is certain, that is, the demand of international patients is increasing every year, so Cuban health authorities begin to open new foreign-related institutions and facilities in large hospitals.

　　According to Alvarez, China and Cuba have established cooperation in medical services. She said: "Because China and Cuba are far apart, it is difficult to launch a comprehensive plan for Chinese to be treated in Cuba. However, once patients have accurate information about treatment, I believe they will have high satisfaction. "

　　Alvarez said that Cuban medical services will send professionals to China to promote health care projects in the future, so that more Chinese can understand and benefit from Cuban medical services. (Ma Guihua) (special feature of Xinhua News Agency)