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Cuba—innovation through synergy

Nature Biotechnology volume 22, pages DC19–DC24 (2004)Cite this article

CUBA'S outstanding achievements in health biotechnology are a source of inspiration for the developing world. They are all the more impressive considering that the island is a small, relatively poor country that has suffered serious economic difficulties for more than a decade. These economic problems arose in the wake of the Soviet Union's disintegration and the political changes in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, resulting in the collapse of Cuba's export markets, and the imposition since 1961 of a US trade embargo against Cuba, which has limited opportunities for the country's agriculturally based economy. Despite these difficulties, Cuba's strong and continued emphasis on science since shortly after the 1959 revolution has resulted in a highly developed health biotechnology sector.

The success of Cuba's health biotechnology sector

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Figure 1: Cuban publications and USPTO patents in health biotechnology (1991–2002).

Illustration by R. Henretta

Figure 2

Illustration by R. Henretta

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Acknowledgements

Publication of this supplement was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle, WA), Genome Canada (Ottawa, ON, Canada), McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine (Toronto, Canada) and the Rockefeller Foundation (New York, NY). The authors want to thank the 32 Cuban experts interviewed for this study for generously giving us time and for sharing their knowledge with us. Special thanks to Archana Bhatt, Zoe Costa-von Aesch and James Renihan for patent analysis, éric Archambault, Frédéric Bertrand and Grégoire Côté at Science-Metrix (Montréal, Canada) for analysis of publication data and to Lynn K. Mytelka, Ernesto Bravo, Fabio Salamanca-Buentello and the participants at an International Workshop at the United Nations University Institute for New Technologies in February 2003, for their valuable input into this work. The Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health is primarily supported by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute and by the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund. Matching funders are listed at http://www.geneticsethics.net. PAS is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Distinguished Investigator award. ASD is supported by the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine, University of Toronto. Publication of this paper was supported by Genome Canada (Ottawa, Canada) and the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine (Toronto, Canada).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Assistant Professor, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics and Department of Public Health Sciences, Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, 88 College Street, Toronto, M5G 1L4, Ontario, Canada

    Halla Thorsteinsdóttir

  2. Associate Senior Researcher, Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentable, University of Brasilia, SHIN QL 11, Conjunto 4, Casa 11 Lago Norte, Brasilia, DF CEP 71 515 745, Brazil

    Tirso W Sáenz

  3. Research Assistant, Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, 88 College Street, Toronto, M5G 1L4, Ontario, Canada

    Uyen Quach

  4. McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine; Professor of Public Health Sciences and of Surgery, University of Toronto,

    Abdallah S Daar

  5. Professor of Public Health Sciences and of Surgery, University of Toronto,

    Abdallah S Daar

  6. Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, 88 College Street, Toronto, M5G 1L4, Ontario, Canada

    Abdallah S Daar

  7. University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics; Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto,

    Peter A Singer

  8. Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto,

    Peter A Singer

  9. Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health, 88 College Street, Toronto, M5G 1L4, Ontario, Canada

    Peter A Singer

Authors
  1. Halla Thorsteinsdóttir
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  2. Tirso W Sáenz
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  3. Uyen Quach
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  4. Abdallah S Daar
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  5. Peter A Singer
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Correspondence to Halla Thorsteinsdóttir.

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Thorsteinsdóttir, H., Sáenz, T., Quach, U. et al. Cuba—innovation through synergy. Nat Biotechnol 22 (Suppl 12), DC19–DC24 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1204supp-DC19

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