Or to put it another way: Do they work?

the corporate media refuse th acknowledge the amazing work which has been going on in Cuba in creating effective medicine to be useful for the REST of the world which cannot afford the expensive US versions.

Heard about their amazing successful AIDS/HIV cocktails the Cuban government created before 2000, which has been used to reclaim so many Cuban lives. Heard about their Menningitus, Hepititus triumphs so many years ago, as well, and various cancer forms, etc., etc., etc. Not to mention their real wizardry in eye surgery, which they have used for tremendous relief to so many Caribbean, Central American, South American patients, many times flying them to Cuba at their own expense, and sending people home of all ages, WITHOUT eye tumors, etc, or cataracts, etc.

Of course there's NO WAY we are ever going to hear about these marvels here, either, through ordinary corporate chanels.

Amazing, isn't it?

Last Updated: Friday, 21 November, 2003, 08:29 GMT
Cuba sells its medical expertise
By Tom Fawthrop
reporting from Havana, Cuba

~snip~
Vaccines

In the 1980s millions of dollars were invested by the Cuban government in developing modern vaccines laboratories and a massive centre for biotechnology.

Since the end of Soviet aid in 1989, and the acute economic crisis of the 1990s, Cuba has seen the excellence of its medico-scientific institutions as a strategic resource for developing new medical products for export.
The country's first breakthrough in medical research was its discovery and patenting of meningitis-B vaccine in late 1980s.

It has been successfully exported to cope with epidemics in South American countries including Brazil and Argentina.

The vaccine has now been licensed to GlaxoSmithKline who will now market it in Europe and it is hoped eventually in the USA.

Political obstacles

Cuba's attempts to gain a foothold in the international pharmaceutical market have come up against formidable obstacles, both commercial and political, with the stringent US trade embargo.

This socialist island's strength has been in the quality of its products, not in marketing and export know-how.
During the last few years the biggest earner for Cuban biotechnology has been the export of Hepatitis-B vaccine to more than 30 countries.

The Cuban vaccine is widely regarded as the more effective than Belgian and US-produced vaccines.

Cuba maybe judged poor by material living standards, but its medical sector is a strong demonstration of its wealth in human resources.

Joint ventures with China, India and Russia have been established to set up vaccine plants in their countries based on a transfer of Cuban technology.

~snip~
Joint ventures

The special obstacles to Cuba breaking into the western market have led to a policy of trying to find joint venture partners, which currently include a Canadian, German and a Spanish company.

Cuba's cutting-edge products for neck and breast cancer have caused the biggest stir in the world of biotechnology.

They have just been licensed to a German pharmaceutical company, with rights to develop the drug TheraCIM h-R3 for the European market.

Analysts say so far the commercial rewards for Cuba's many medical innovations have only been a fraction of their potential.

But if TheraCim h-R3 receives regulatory approval, it could become a standard cancer treatment in Europe in four or five years, with estimated sales of around $3bn a year.

ETC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3284995.stm

now we know their pharmaceutical research is too. Not surprised personally. I am surprised that we continue to embargo them. Isn't 50 years enough?