Speaking to Granma International,
Dr. Hugo Nodarse Cuní, clinical expert at Heber
Biotec S.A., stated that increased production will
enable the product to meet the demand of the
national health system and achieve greater
therapeutic coverage.
PEG-Heberon is the commercial name
given to Interferon alfa-2b, a Cuban pharmaceutical
product to treat chronic Hepatitis C.
According to Nodarse Cuní, head of
the Oncology Department and other CIGB clinical
research projects, the medicine is supported by
research which evaluated its behavior in and effect
on the patient, in addition to other biological
safety mechanisms.
The product is designed to reduce
the number of parenteral administrations given to
the patient and ensure that stable levels of the
medicine in their blood are maintained, which
results in better control of the illness.
Such an achievement has been
possible given that Cuba posses the necessary
technology and has 30 years accumulated experience
producing Interferon.
The first to be developed was
Interferon alfa, from blood donors, and later,
Interferon alpha- 2b and gamma through genetic
engineering techniques.
It is worth mentioning that on May
28 1981 - with the creation of Interferon alfa -
Cuban scientists realized Fidel Castro’s visionary
idea and took the first step in the development of
Cuban biotechnology.
Since December 2009, PEG-Heberon has
held the health registration awarded by the State
Control of Medicines, Equipment, and Medical Devices
(CECMED), which only includes its use in the
treatment of chronic Hepatitis B and C, with the
latter being the most common.
It is possible that in the future
the registration could be extended to its use in
melanoma treatments, for which interferon has
already been noted globally.
In 2010 it was added to the
country’s basic catalogue of medicines, composed of
888 essential pharmaceuticals, and the following
year was introduced to the national health system
and made available to patients in all hospitals,
free of charge.
As the result of a joint effort
between the CIGB and Ministry of Public Health, in
2011, it began to be used as part of a combined
treatment with ribavirin, in three
hospitals in Havana, and has since been expanded to
other medical centers across the country, stated
Nodarse Cuní
To treat chronic Hepatitis C, the
patient is injected with 180 micrograms of
PEG-Heberon weekly, combined with ribavirin which is
taken on a daily basis in doses calculated according
to the patient’s weight.
The duration of the treatment is
anywhere between 12 and 72 weeks, depending on the
viral genotype present in the patient and the result
of tests regarding the reduction of the virus in the
blood.
Nodarse Cuní commented that from a
clinical perspective, the combined
PEG-Heberon-ribavirina treatment is 27% more
effective in treating Hepatitis C than the
conventional interferon alpha medicine.
According to statistics, to date,
more than 800 individuals with chronic Hepatitis C
have been treated with PEG-Heberon in Cuba, but the
number has increased given the country’s greater
diagnostic and treatment capabilities.
The clinical expert emphasized that
processes are underway in various countries to
register PEG-Heberon, which will enable the product
to be exported to foreign markets.
Last year the medicine received the
National Health Award and in 2012 was given the
Technological Innovation Prize, awarded by the
Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment.
Similarly, PEG-Heberon will be
presented as part of Heber Biotec S.A’s portfolio of
products at the Havana International Trade Fair,
taking place in November.
Heber Biotec S.A. is one of nine
import-sales state enterprises affiliated with
BioCubaFarma, Cuba’s Biotechnology and
Pharmaceutical Industry Group, founded November 27,
2012, and which last year became Cuba’s largest
exporter of goods.
