The Cuban government inaugurated this Thursday the first broad-spectrum antibiotic plant on the island, which, according to the authorities, will allow the production of medicines for intensive care and whose importation represents an expense of up to eight million dollars a year.
The new plant is part of the 8 de Marzo Pharmaceutical Company and will be the only producer on the island of widely used antibiotics, which act against various pathogenic bacteria. The Cuban Presidency reported on social networks that the facility has the capacity to meet national demand and even export, although it will be necessary to wait until April and May for the first batches of drugs to reach the National Health System, if everything goes according to plan. .
President Miguel Díaz-Canel described the opening of the plant as “a feat” due to the “difficult year” the island has faced in the midst of a shortage of most products for daily use. Without specifying the investment or capacity of the factory, the Government indicated that injectables such as meropenem, rocephin and cefotaxime will be produced at the new plant, used to treat bacterial infections, pneumonia and meningitis.
A note published at the beginning of August by the official newspaper Granma announced the construction of this plant, which would be the third under the supervision of the 8 de Marzo Pharmaceutical Company. The two previous ones are dedicated to the elaboration of oral cephalosporins and penicillins. At that time, Eduardo Martínez Díaz, president of the state company BioCubaFarma, indicated that the importation of antibiotics costs between seven and eight million dollars a year, so the delivery of operations of the plant will reduce expenses.
Without specifying the investment or capacity of the factory, the Government indicated that injectables such as meropenem, rocephin and cefotaxime will be produced at the new plant.
The Prime Minister of Cuba, Manuel Marrero, also inaugurated this Thursday a surgical unit at the Julio Aristegui Hospital, located in the municipality of Cárdenas, Matanzas. Qualified as “modern”, the new facility has six rooms for different specialties and, in the words of Marrero, “will reduce the long waiting list of patients” in the province.
The unit also has two recovery rooms, sterilization areas, and rooms for medical personnel. The authorities estimate that it will benefit some 250,000 Cubans residing in the closest municipalities such as Perico, Jovellanos and Martí.
During his tour of the Matanzas municipality, Marrero also visited the accommodation and social protection center, inaugurated last August with a capacity to serve 25 people. His tour included the La Dominica hotel, declared a national monument because it was the first place where the Cuban flag flew on May 19, 1850, but which is currently in the process of being repaired.
In the same way, the official press points out, the prime minister participated in the second ordinary session of the Municipal Assembly of People’s Power for the approval of the territory’s budget for 2023. According to the official with the usual triumphalism, next year will be ” victories”, but “the greatest amount of problems” will have to be solved first.
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