When that historic July 26th was celebrated in Camagüey, where Fidel predicted that the socialist bloc in Europe was in danger of collapsing; the day before, the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB, by its acronym in Spanish) opened its doors, which today celebrates its 32nd anniversary sowing science and health.
To know what happens behind those glass doors and in its labyrinthine corridors, with a green gown, hat and gloves, we will visit the rooms under the guidance of its director, Sc.D. Nemecio González Fernández, who has worked in the institution for 28 years.
A lilted bit of history
I must point out that the CIGB in Camagüey is the first created outside the capital, just 3 years later after the center of the capital due to the cattle tradition of the region.
Something is known about its line of work, which for 20 years have promoted the development of agriculture, where three products stand out, the Gavac immunogen against the cattle tick, the HeberNem-S bio-product against nematodes in plants and the Porvac vaccine against classical swine fever.
Other achievements are already undeniable in this line of animal health, to treat the hemorrhagic disease of the rabbit and against some pathogens that interfere in the production of salmon, the latter, catching the attention of foreign companies that export tis precious fish.
For human health
Although its main objectives are to improve agricultural production, thanks to the expertise of scientists, they created a drug in favor of human immunity that is already progressing in Camagüey laboratories, that is the case of the vaccine candidate against prostate cancer, which it is in an advanced phase of the study.
Another contribution was the support for clinical trials of COVID vaccines, which, although they were not carried out in the province, its staff and some assurances, facilitated the process.
Now they will be linked to the vaccination against Sars Cov.2 to the phase I / II clinical trial in children; as announced at the Mesa Redonda program by Dr. Martha Ayala. The objective of the trial is to demonstrate the safety of the vaccine candidate in children, so that once approved by CECMED, vaccination begins at these ages, throughout the country.
Gold brooch
This tour of the prestigious facility was undoubtedly a trip back in time; this institution owes hours of dreams to the doctors and the rest of its workers, made up of 120.
Nemecio, according to his colleagues, is a very dedicated boss, demanding but determined that all work must be accomplished, because as I could read between his words, he never stops until each investigation reaches a glorious end, which translates into Science and engineering at the service of health.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
