{"id":1040,"date":"2020-03-24T15:43:25","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T15:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=1040"},"modified":"2020-05-05T23:19:24","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T23:19:24","slug":"the-history-of-interferon-in-cuba-in-use-today-to-treat-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/the-history-of-interferon-in-cuba-in-use-today-to-treat-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"The history of interferon in Cuba, in use today to treat Covid-19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
The interferon project began in 1981, after Fidel met U.S. doctor Randolph Lee Clark. <\/em>
Photo: <\/strong>Granma Archives <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Cuba\u2019s pride in Interferon Alfa 2b is a natural reaction given the international prestige enjoyed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology which produces the medication<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Recombinant Human Interferon Alpha 2b continues to make headlines \naround the world and captures the interest of readers given its \neffectiveness in treating patients with the new SARS Cov-2 coronavirus, \nwhich causes the illness known as Covid-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, it is not a vaccine that “miraculously” prevents \ninfection, nor a 100% made-in-Cuba drug, although the Cuban technology \nused to obtain the Interferon molecule has made the process more \nefficient and improved the product\u2019s quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not national chauvinism, but rather an accurate fact, as \nevidenced by the international prestige enjoyed by the Center for \nGenetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Santiago Due\u00f1as Carrera, deputy general manager of the \nChangchun Heber Biological Technology joint venture – which produces \nAlpha Interferon 2b with Cuban technology – the decision to create this \nentity in 2003 was based on the common interest of Cuba and China to \ndevelop the production and commercialization of biotechnological \nproducts, based on the experience accumulated by Cuban scientists in \nthis field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toward this end, he said, the transfer of technology, and also \nknowledge, from the CIGB to the new Cuba-China company for the \nmanufacture of this therapeutic drug, with antiviral action, a process \nthat ended in 2007 with the obtaining of sanitary registration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“At that time, Interferon began to be used to treat conditions like \nHepatitis B and C, until it was granted coverage by Chinese medical \ninsurance, which has extended availability to 20 regions of the \ncountry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Changchun Heber was founded, Interferon had already been used \nextensively in other countries, but the Chinese government recognized \nthe capacity of Cuba\u2019s biotechnology industry to develop safe and \neffective products, and chose to work with us, he said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Currently, the drug is produced at the joint venture plant in four \nprincipal formats, with different doses, all injectable: 3, 5, 6 and 10 \nmillion international units per vial, while since it began marketing, in\n 2007, through the end of 2019, more than four million doses had been \nadministered, involving more than 100,000 patients in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is the background to how ‘Cuban’ interferon got to China and \nthe previous uses it was given, before in the current epidemiological \nsituation,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the spread of the new coronavirus,” Due\u00f1as explained, “China\u2019s \nHealth Commission asked companies producing interferon, including \nChangchun Heber, to supply this drug to the health system.” It is not \nthe only drug used to confront the pandemic, but it is one of the most \nused for the treatment of Covid-19, especially in aerosol form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A BIT OF HISTORY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand how the development of Interferon Alfa 2b came about in\n Cuba, we must go back to house number 149, in the in Havana \nneighborhood of Atabey, with only 180 square meters of floor space, \nwhere professionalism and commitment took root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Completely faithful to history, we can say, “It was Comandante en \njefe Fidel Castro Ruz, with his visionary thinking, who understood the \nneed for Cuba to immerse itself in the field of modern biotechnology.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how Gustavo Furrazola G\u00f3mez, a biologist by profession and founder of the CIGB, recalls the early days:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work on the project began in 1981, after Fidel met with the U.S. \ndoctor Randolph Lee Clark. “On that occasion, the leader of the Cuban \nRevolution had asked him about the newest treatments that were being \nused internationally for the treatment of cancer, and Lee Clark told him\n about the interferon that was being developed at the hospital he \ndirected in Texas. Following that meeting, two Cuban scientists traveled\n to Texas to receive a certain level of training.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, four other specialists joined this team, which traveled to \nHelsinki, Finland to the laboratory of Professor Kari Cantell, who had \nfirst isolated the interferon molecule in 1972.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scientists returned to Cuba and, with the support of other \nprofessionals, that “little house” remodeled as a laboratory became the \nepicenter of an intense effort, making possible the first production in \nour country of interferon, from white blood cells, on May 28, 1981, \nFurrazola recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NECESSARY CLARIFICATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When the Cuban biotechnology industry began production of \ninterferon, a technology very similar to that used by the U.S.-based \npharmaceutical company Schering-Plough was employed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But we began to develop our own elements and particularities in the \ntechnology used, seeking to improve the production process,” recalls Ya\u00ed\n Cruz Ruiseco, current director of CIGB imports, who worked for 16 years\n on the interferon production line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research studies conducted allowed us to develop methods based on \nestablished practice and scaling for production of the medicine in \nquestion, and thanks to this technology, we have been able to reach 99% \npurity in extracting the interferon molecule, which is very difficult, \nin addition to the fact that batches are produced with a high level of \nefficiency and security, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CIGB works jointly with the National Center for Biopreparations \n(BioCen), in the production of Interferon Alpha 2b, especially in the \nsecond stage which consists of filling containers and freeze-drying the \nproduct, to prepare the drug for distribution in its finished form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have always worked with those involved on the clinical and \nresearch side, depending on new applications of the drug with different \npatients, since, although it is mainly used to treat cancer, interferon \nalso has antiviral properties, Cruz explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is worth noting, she added, that this drug has been used in other \nepidemiological situations in Cuba, such as the dengue hemorrhagic fever\n epidemic in 1981, and in the 1990s, to treat conjunctivitis of viral \norigin, this time in the form of eye drops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not surprising, that, given the Covid-19 situation, the CICB is working uninterruptedly to increase production and that workers like Gustavo Furrazola are proud to have participated in obtaining a drug that has helped so many, regardless of the hours of work he invested. As he says, in his own words, “in moments like this, we remember Fidel’s visionary perspective, and this becomes another reason for our commitment.”
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Granma<\/a><\/strong> | Monday, 23 March 2020<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cuba\u2019s pride in Interferon Alfa 2b is a natural reaction given the international prestige enjoyed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology which produces […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101012,"featured_media":1041,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[36,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid-19","category-history"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1035,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/helen-yaffe-on-the-development-of-antiviral-drug-interferon-alfa-2b-in-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":1040,"position":0},"title":"Helen Yaffe on the development of antiviral drug Interferon Alfa 2b in Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"March 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2Zcm9nz5DQc","rel":"","context":"In "Covid-19"","block_context":{"text":"Covid-19","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/covid-19\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2020-03-20-at-23.59.19.png?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2020-03-20-at-23.59.19.png?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2020-03-20-at-23.59.19.png?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2020-03-20-at-23.59.19.png?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2020-03-20-at-23.59.19.png?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2933,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/cuba-proves-efficacy-of-recombinant-human-interferon-alpha-2b\/","url_meta":{"origin":1040,"position":1},"title":"Cuba proves efficacy of recombinant human interferon alpha 2b.","author":"Editorial Team","date":"October 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Medical and Surgical Research Center and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, both in Havana, proved the efficacy and safety of Recombinant Human Interferon Alpha 2B, a drug currently used in Cuba as a prophylaxis to fight Covid-19.The nasal spray Interferon is administrated to patients on a hemodialysis\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/inferon.jpeg?fit=960%2C543&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/inferon.jpeg?fit=960%2C543&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/inferon.jpeg?fit=960%2C543&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/inferon.jpeg?fit=960%2C543&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1952,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/today-marks-the-39th-anniversary-of-the-first-production-of-cuban-interferon\/","url_meta":{"origin":1040,"position":2},"title":"Today marks the 39th anniversary of the first production of Cuban interferon","author":"Editorial Team","date":"May 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Today marks the 39th anniversary of the first production of the Cuban interferon, currently used in the fight against COVID-19 in various countries of the world. 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