Cuba has registered the
world’s first lung cancer vaccine in Peru and has
plans to register the drug in other Latin American countries soon. The
development of the breakthrough vaccine, known as CimaVax EFG, began in 1992 to
combat the world’s deadliest cancer. The drug first became available in Cuba in
2008.
Over 15 years of clinical trials
in Cuba, the United Kingdom and Canada demonstrated that patients with advanced lung
cancer who took the drug lived longer and had a better quality of life. Cuba
welcomed people from all over the world to participate in the trials.
Because the drug is a modified protein found in the human body that attacks only cancer
cells, it has few reported side effects, none of which are severe. The
protein binds to certain receptors on cell membranes, thereby preventing the
proliferation of cancerous cells.
Consistent with the socialist organization of society, Cuba
provides free, high-quality health care to all of the island’s inhabitants.
