Thai company inks biopharmaceutical technology pact with Cuban firm
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Thailand's first biopharmaceutical company on Tuesday signed a technology transfer pact with Cuba's Center of Molecular Immunology to produce drugs to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The agreement was signed between the Siam Bioscience Company and the Cuban centre, set up in 1994 to research and manufacture "off-patent biopharmaceuticals."
The specialised medical field uses genetic engineering to produce new medicines, most of which remain inaccessible to developing countries because of their high production costs.
"In Cuba we made the first steps in biotechnology early in the '80s,under the direct leadership of President Fidel Castro," said Agustin Lage Devila, director general of the Center of Molecular Immunology.
"However, no country can face this enormous challenge alone," he said. "International cooperation is needed, especially joint projects among developing countries."
In Thailand, the centre agreed to make Siam Bioscience its contract manufacturer of biopharmaceuticals to treat lymphoma, breast cancer and autoimmune diseases, which include arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
DPA
