HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) — Nimotuzumab, a Cuban monoclonal antibody humanized to treat cancer, is registered in 28 countries, mainly in South America, Africa and Asia, in addition to Cuba.
Specialists at the Center of Molecular Immunology, an institution of the BioCubaFarma Business Group, said that the product has shown its effectiveness in various cases of malignant tumours. Indicated for tumours in the head and neck in advanced stages, brain tumours and of the esophagus, Nimotuzumab is also used in other oncological ailments of the colon, rectum and liver, and in lung cancer among other locations.
The monoclonal antibody and its results will be the focus, on March 25-27, of the eighth global scientific meeting on Nimotuzumab — Nimomeeting 2014.
With Havana’s Convention Center as its venue, the forum will bring together over 200 experts from some 20 nations, as well as about 20 international biopharmaceutical companies interested in sharing experiences about the medication, the therapeutics of which are used in the medical specialties of oncology, oncopediatrics, radiotherapy, pediatrics and neurosurgery, among others.
Meanwhile, Cuba is trying to take its diabetic foot ulcer drug known as Heberprot-P into the European market.
Heberprot-P is a product based on human growth factor currently being administered in some 20 countries, mostly in Latin America. According to the marketing director of the Havana-based Genetic Engineer and Biotechnology Center, Ernesto Lopez, the pre-clinical stage of the product, known in Europe as Epipropt, was carried out with good toxicological and safety results.
In Spain, with an estimate 40,000 patients needing the Cuban drug, tests were carried out with no negative toxic results. The product has been developed since 2012 for research studies in other European nations.
According to studies, amputation of lower limbs was reduced fourfold, with the surgical procedure in Europe currently costing over 50,000 Euros, and treatment of the condition some 20,000 Euros.
It is the amputation of lower limbs as a direct consequence of diabetic foot ulcer that the Cuban medication avoids with a period of treatment of only six to seven months.
Along with the therapeutic action on serious ulcers, the treatment has demonstrated a preventive nature in countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and Ecuador. (Caribbean News Now)
