Cuba-Brazil Bilateral Agreement Fosters Drug and Vaccine Development
According to the director of Brazil's national regulatory agency (Anvisa), Dirceu Barbano, the cooperative exchanges of regulatory information and technology facilitated by a bilateral agreement between Cuba and Brazil have been "beneficial" in the development of new drugs and vaccines.
The two countries have established a cooperative framework through which they have produces millions of meningococcal vaccines intended for use in Africa. According to reports, the agreement has been held up as a "model of joint venture and technology transfer."
The two countries also have a number of other co-signed agreements-primarily memoranda of understanding (MOUs)-which are set to be discussed by Barbano at a Cuban conference on global public health. In a statement, Anvisa also said that Barbano plans to make a presentation on Brazil's national health care system, the Unified Health System (SUS) to the Cuban government.
Barbano's comments were made at the International Public Health Convention that is being held in Cuba. The main themes of the conference are the economic, social and environmental impacts of public health in the 21st century.