Comparative Considerations and Conclusions

Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, 2003

2008

In the current biotechnological industry there is an increasing tendency towards research, development and production of medicines destined for the treatment of predominating diseases in the developed world and a decrease in those required for the treatment of the diseases that affect the countries of the Third World. Five groups of viral, bacterial and parasitic diseases kill more than 11 million persons a year in the underdeveloped world and there is still lack of an effective treatment for them. The causes of this problem are in mercantilist politicies of the transnational pharmaceutical companies and the lack of a political will of the third-world governments to look for new solutions. Cuba, a blocked country and with diverse material lacks has found a coherent formula to face this problem with the development of a scientific social project that allows to put to the service of the Cuban society all the obtained scientific results and by means of international projects, to take t...

SpringerBriefs in History of Science and Technology, 2016

Sociology and Anthropology

Cuba is continuing attracting the attention of the international scientific community for some important and unexpected achievements in applied science such as health biotechnology. They represent outcomes of the 1959 decision of Cuba to develop an advanced scientific system in order to address the most urgent problems for the development of the country and to overcome the condition of subalternity. This ambitious objective was tackled in a very original way, making a broad and wide-ranging recourse to every effective support and collaboration, with Soviet but also Western scientists and institutions, in addition to a peculiar Cuban inventiveness. Indeed, immediately after the revolution, Cuba developed an advanced and articulated scientific system, and achieved a level of excellence in leading scientific fields, like biotechnology, quite independently from the Soviet Union, which was behind in this field. Even the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, that could have put the achievements of the Revolution at risk, posing again the threat of subalternity, under an intentionally worsened American embargo, did not change this trend: once more Cuba addressed this challenge reconfirming the strategic choice of supporting its most advanced and profitable scientific sectors, especially the capital-intensive and typically American field of health biotechnologies. This strategy proved to be once again a well-chosen course of action.

Social Science Research Network, 2005

Biotechnology is typically associated with the centres of learning and firms in industrialised countries but usually not with institutions in developing countries. Developing nations are however, becoming active in this field and are increasingly using recombinant methods to produce new and innovative health products for their populations. Here we will examine health biotechnology development in two developing countries, Brazil and Cuba. We will compare the major characteristics of their health biotechnology sectors and highlight factors that have shaped their development in order to understand better what main factors and conditions can promote health biotechnology innovation in developing countries.

International Journal of Technology Management and Sustainable Development, 2008

This article presents a discussion on the development of the activities of science, technology and innovation (S&T&I) in Cuba after 1959, the experiences gained and the challenges to face. The main topics to be discussed are: the different periods of this process and its main characteristics; the role of government and other innovation actors; the S&T&I planning and managerial model prevalent at different moments; the effects and outcomes of the fall of the European Socialist countries and the different measures taken to overcome the difficult situations encountered. Several case studies are presented: the development of biotechnology for medical purposes, and some results experienced in the basic industry sector. Some general conclusions are drawn, and some challenges and perspectives identified.

This paper presents case studies on how Cuban universities have increasingly become directly involved with the economic and social development of the country. The paper shows how Cuban universities, from the late 1980s and early 1990s, started reorientation and organization of their scientific research, becoming more directly and intensely involved in the economic and social development of the country. In this connection, special reference is made to the case of a research group at the University of Havana: the Laboratory of Synthetic Antigens. This group developed the first synthetic vaccine for human use approved in the world. In the article, public policies involved in this success as well as different obstacles are discussed. These obstacles demonstrate the difficulties and challenges that universities face when carrying out research and innovation activities related to economic and social development.

ArXiv, 2020

Cuban science and technology are known for important achievements, particularly in human healthcare and biotechnology. During the second half of XX century, the country developed a system of scientific institutions to address and solve major economical, cultural, social and health problems. However, the economic crisis faced by the island during the last three decades has had a major impact in Cuban scientific research. In addition to decreased investment, the emigration of thousands of young as well as senior scientists to other countries have had a major impact in Cuban research output. To date, no systematic analysis regarding scientific publications, citations, or patents granted to Cuban authors during this period, are available. Here, an analysis of Cuban scientific production since 1970, with an especial focus on the last three decades (1990 - 2019), is provided. All national metrics are compared with other countries, emphasizing those from Latin America. Preliminary results ...

Cuba has developed a biopharmaceutical sector that involves some of the country's most relevant scientific institutions. Despite the severe constraints on resources resulting from the U.S. embargo, the results achieved by this sector have contributed to put the country's health indicators at the same level of high-income nations. Recently, the creation of BioCubaFarma as a cluster of high-technology enterprises organized around a closed cycle model becomes one of the most relevant efforts of the Island in order to make biopharmaceuticals one of the country's leading export earners. The main aim of the current paper was to characterize BioCubaFarma through a battery of Scopus-based bibliometric indicators. A comparison with the most productive multinational pharmaceutical companies was made. Regression analysis of annual productivity, number of citations, scientific talent pool, innovative knowledge and other citation-based indicators was performed. Differences and similarities between BioCubaFarma and multinational companies in four Scopus subject categories related to this sector were identified. The most productive and visible institutions from BioCubaFarma were also characterized. Qualified human resources, innovative knowledge, leadership, high specialization in the field of vaccines development and non-dependence of international collaboration are strengths of the organization. However, it is still necessary to increase the number of articles published in highly visible journals with the aim to achieve a better citation-based performance. Moreover, to increase the contributions from less-productive institutions, more clinical research published in medical journals and more collaboration with universities and health institutions could also have positive benefits for BioCubaFarma's pipelines and portfolios.