Cuba : 95% of drug shortages are due to lack of raw materials

Non-availability of raw materials and needed production inputs represents 95% of the drug shortages this year, while the remaining 5% were related to stoppages in production plants, due to breakages or maintenance, indicated Eduardo Martínez Diaz, BioCubafarma business group president.

In the case of financing for raw materials, he pointed out that, although we have the money, there are problems in paying suppliers, due to the banks’ refusal to work with Cuba, due to the blockade, a unilateral US policy which has also impacted some suppliers who have stopped supplying, to which is added a global deficit of raw materials and pharmaceutical materials.

United States blockade prevents foreign currency from entering the country. «For us this is one of the day-to-day work priorities, because if we do not have that income we cannot later acquire raw materials, and our factories cannot produce, nor our workers have income.

For that reason, we must look for permanent alternatives,” said Martínez Díaz. Currently, more than a thousand medications produced by BioCubaFarma, some 795 are devoted to national Health system, and 383 make up the basic supply to Cuban pharmacies.

With 122 production lines, BioCubafarma business group is focused on development, with 11 recapitalized production lines and 19 new lines in the last five years. Among the 391 research projects currently being carried out, they are also making progress in improving the formulation of products such as Heberprot, formulations against neurodegenerative diseases, and a vaccine candidate against dengue.