By IANS/EFE,
Havana : Cuban scientists have developed a new variation of a drug used to prevent the rejection of organ transplants and which constitutes the first nanopharmaceutical product that the island has manufactured on an industrial scale.
Experts cited Saturday by local media said that the product was created by specialists at the Medicine Research and Development Center and is a “variation” of cyclosporine, an immunosuppressant for patients undergoing organ transplants.
The new formulation was presented during the 4th International Nanosciences and Nanotechnology Seminar held in Havana, where it was announced that the patent for the new drug has already been applied for.
The chief creator of the drug, Orestes Dario Lopez, told the daily Granma that the Cuban medicine has a composition completely soluble in water, where the cyclosporine dissolves in the form of nanoparticles in microcapsules.
Among its advantages is that “with a dose three times smaller it has the same positive effect provided by the medicine of this kind that is most sold on the international market, significantly reducing adverse side-effects”.
Cuba considers nanosciences and nanotechnology to be “strategic” areas for its scientific and commercial development; both are focused principally on health services and the biotechnology industry.
Cuba aims to become one of the leading countries in Latin America in these fields during the 2015-20 period, and as part of its strategy has established in Havana the Center for Advanced Studies, or CEAC, dedicated to the development of these fields.