Cuba recovers the production of some medicines employed to treat cancer and other invasive diseases after the famine due to financing problems to acquire raw materials and supplies, according to official media on the Island.
Of the total number of cytostatic sera produced by local plants, four were affected by lack of supplies. Three of them (Paclitaxel 300 mg/bulb, Methotrexate 50 mg/bulb, Fluorouracil 500 mg/bulb) will start shipping this month, according to a reportage published by the official newspaper Granma.
Touring our Cytostatics production plant, the President of @BioCubaFarma with VP Eulogio verifying the production of drugs Methotrexate and Paclitaxel just received the supplies for their production. pic.twitter.com/hdIVRGSLBJ
— Aica Laboratories (@AicaLaboratorio) July 30, 2022
According to the media, these have the raw material in the production plants, while Docetaxel 80 mg/bulb will continue to be lacking for the time being. The antineoplastic drugs Methotrexate 50 mg and Paclitaxel 300 mg, used in conditions such as leukemia, autoimmune diseases, carcinomas and sarcomas, among others, had been out of stock for almost a year.
In the case of Methotrexate, there is a production in the process of being released to begin distribution to hospitals this week. The raw material guarantees coverage for three months. The report specifies that the production of Paclitaxel 300 mg also began with coverage for around 70 days, which should be extended from the next arrival of more raw materials.
After the production of Paclitaxel, the production of Fluorouracil 500 mg will begin, which although it is available at this time, was also declared missing due to the depletion of the necessary raw materials. The arrival of supplies would guarantee their existence for the next 45 days.
Damián Rojo Hernández, director of the Base Business Unit (UEB) Cytostatics, belonging to the AICA Laboratories, told the Communist Party organ that other cytostatics, such as Oxaliplatin 100 mg/bulb, Carboplatin 450 mg/bulb and Doxorubicin 50 mg/bulb, will be lacking in the coming months for the same reason.
The newspaper pointed out “that once the raw material arrives at the laboratory, it has to comply with a rigorous analysis process before preparing the drug and, after it is manufactured, it takes 15 more days to be released.”
The director confirmed that for this month the availability of 13 products that will be distributed in hospitals dedicated to the treatment of this disease is guaranteed.
Two cytostatic products, Irinotecan and Gemcitabine, which are currently imported by the national industry, were recently developed in the Antillean country, so they can be incorporated into the entity’s productive portfolio, he said. Granma.
Cuba: Pharmaceutical Industry Slightly Recovers Production of Highly Demanded Medicines
According to Juan Vicente Bayolo Guanche, head of the Quality Management Department of the UEB Cytostatics, the entity had the opportunity to incorporate both drugs thanks to the financing of a joint collaboration project with MediCuba Switzerland and MediCuba Europe.
He specified that they have already obtained registration from the Center for the State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (Cecmed), while their entry into the permanent production of the UEB depends on the availability of a financial cycle that allows the Company to guarantee the continuity and manufacture of the products in 2023.
