Cuban drug against head and neck cancer approved in China

China on Monday approved the registration of the Cuban humanized monoclonal antibody called Nimotuzumab, aimed at treating head and neck cancer, a new milestone in biotechnological cooperation between the two countries.

China’s National Medical Products Administration expanded the use of this drug, which was already used here to treat pancreatic and nasopharyngeal cancers as part a research conducted by the Chinese-Cuban joint venture Biotech Pharma (BPL).

As a result of bilateral cooperation in biotechnology, Cuban expert Yasser Perera, scientific director of the Cuba-China Joint Biotechnology Innovation Center in Yongzhou, was awarded with the Friendship Medal in Hunan province, southern China.

Zulaine Guerra, director of the Biocubafarma Representation Office in China, said that the news “fills with joy and pride” that collective and “entails more responsibility to continue to promote Cuba’s committed science.”

In an interview with Prensa Latina, BPL Director Bai Xianhong stressed that Nimotuzumab was the first humanized monoclonal antibody in China since 2008, with definitive results in fighting nasopharyngeal cancer.

Subsequently, clinical trials in 23 centers nationwide validated the drug’s efficacy in treating pancreatic cancer. The National Medical Products Administration approved its use to fight this disease. / PL.