Cuban biotechnology has consolidated itself as one of the Island’s most strategic and dynamic sectors, capable of generating products unique in the world and maintaining a humanist vocation in the midst of an adverse scenario.
With more than four decades of development, institutions such as the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) and the BioCubaFarma Business Group have positioned Cuba on the international map of science applied to health, offering solutions that impact both the national population and patients in other countries.
The sector has a consolidated infrastructure that sustains these advances. BioCubaFarma integrates 48 companies, 34 of them in Cuba and 14 abroad, and brings together more than 15,000 highly qualified workers. Eight of its institutions have been recognised as High Technology Enterprises, and its products are marketed in more than 40 countries.
This scientific-industrial network has enabled Cuba to develop vaccines against meningitis and hepatitis B, advanced diagnostic systems, and widely used medicines, reaffirming the Island’s capacity to compete on the global stage.
Among the most promising projects is HEBERSaVax, a therapeutic cancer vaccine that represents a milestone in Cuban biomedical research. It is an active immunotherapy that works through a dual mechanism: it interrupts the supply of nutrients and oxygen to tumors, while simultaneously stimulating the immune system so that the body itself combats the disease.
Phase II clinical trials have shown encouraging results in patients with colorectal, liver, kidney, and ovarian cancers. Specialists highlight its low toxicity and the possibility of combining it with conventional treatments without increasing risks. In some cases, even at advanced stages, complete responses and notable improvements in quality of life have been recorded, opening new perspectives in the fight against solid tumors.
However, this development takes place under the weight of the U.S. economic blockade, which remains a persistent obstacle for Cuban science. Between March 2024 and February 2025, losses in the sector amounted to 129 million dollars, due to the impossibility of acquiring raw materials, spare parts, and access to markets.
The most emblematic case is that of Heberprot-P, a medication unique in the world for treating diabetic foot ulcers, whose export to the United States is prohibited. That restriction alone meant the loss of 90 million dollars in revenue and limited access for thousands of patients to a treatment internationally recognised for its effectiveness.
The paradox is evident: while Cuba contributes knowledge and therapies that could save lives worldwide, it faces an economic siege aimed at halting its scientific development. Nevertheless, Cuban biotechnology maintains its humanist vocation and commitment to innovation.
Products such as HEBERSaVax demonstrate that, even under external pressure, the Island can generate solutions with global impact.
The resilience of its institutions and scientists reaffirms that Cuban science not only responds to national needs but also constitutes a pillar of international cooperation in defense of the right to health.
Yadirys Echenique Paz is the resident Ambassador of Cuba to Grenada