The Immunoassay Center (CIE), one of the references of the Cuban biotechnology industry, is immersed in an investment process to increase the production of biosensors that are used for the care and surveillance of diabetic patients.
These medical supplies have been lacking in most Cuban pharmacies in recent years and this investment project seeks to resume access to these vital devices for people suffering from this complex disease.
Dr. Rebeca Sonia González, deputy director of the CIE, said to the newspaper Granma that “the investment will allow, at first, the manufacture of 30 million biosensors, aimed primarily at the network of health institutions and, to a lesser extent, at community pharmacies.”
Granma pointed out that, according to the specialist’s statements, in a second stage (for which they do not specify deadlines) production is expected to increase to 60 million biosensors, which will not yet satisfy the current demand of 90 million, but it is hoped that they can be within the reach of diabetics who today use this measurement system for their self-control.
The presentation of the new glucometer prototype and this investment project, to expand productive capacities, are decisive projects in the country’s technological sovereignty strategy. In the future it will allow to satisfy the demand of the @MINSAPCuba and the population. pic.twitter.com/SOmVlD899l
— BioCubaFarma (@BioCubaFarma) February 4, 2023
The biosensor plant located in this Center, said González, has technology transfer from China and has a production capacity of 15 to 20 million in box format of 50 strips, which are currently used only to meet the demands of health institutions
The doctor specified that the boxes with ten strips that were sold in the pharmacy network entered Cuba from China, a distribution that is affected by economic limitations. She assured that the new investment will make it possible to gradually reverse that deficit.
The investment will have a new glucometer model that will use the same biosensors as the current one, when it is registered and begins to be produced and distributed, Granma pointed out.
“We are thinking that they are the same biosensors, because changing to a new system would be quite expensive. This system is quite reliable, it has an adequate provision for the management of all patients, because unlike other parts of the world, where there is a diversity of glucometers and strips, this has been designed to maintain a stable technology, and to ensure that the program includes all diabetics who require its use”, assured the specialist.
“The presentation of the new glucometer prototype and this investment project, to expand productive capacities, constitute decisive projects in the country’s technological sovereignty strategy. In the future, it will allow the demand of the Ministry of Public Health and the population to be met,” stated a tweet from BioCubaFarma (Business Group of the Biotechnological and Pharmaceutical Industries of Cuba).
According to the newspaper Granma“the new prototype stands out for its accuracy, it is easy to use, it does not cause pain, it provides results in 25 seconds and it saves up to one hundred measurements”.
The large-scale production of the device in Cuba will be decisive in import substitution and will contribute to the self-control of diabetes, which, in turn, could prevent complications and reduce mortality from a disease that has experienced a considerable increase in cases in Cuba. the last years.
