Bolivian president praises Cuba’s biotechnology center

Havana, Dec 15 (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President Luis Arce acknowledged the work of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, during a visit to that institution in Havana on Wednesday.

The Bolivian head of State was received by president of the Business Group of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industries of Cuba (BioCubaFarma), Eduardo Martinez, and CIGB General Director Marta Ayala.

As part of the tour, the Bolivian president learned that BioCubaFarma is made up of 32 companies and 21 scientific-technological institutions, which promote a cycle of research, development and commercialization of products, in addition to scientific cooperation with several countries.

Arce was briefed about the CIGB-Mariel Biotechnology Industrial Complex, the most modern of its kind in Cuba; the CIMAvax therapeutic vaccine against lung cancer; and the national Mother-Child and Epidemiological Surveillance programs.

As a result of the CIGB’s work, Cuba developed and produced Abdala, the first vaccine in Latin America and the Caribbean against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes Covid-19.

The Bolivian leader is on an official visit to Cuba after participating on Tuesday in the 20th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP).