Cuba Produces Heart Medicine

Cuba Produces Heart MedicineHavana, Aug 12 .-The Drug Research and Development Center (CIDEM) in Havana successfully introduced and generalized in Cuba the use of Atorvastatina, a hypolipidemic drug.

Iverlis Diaz, a researcher with that institution, told the National News Agency that the drug, in tablet form, reduces blood cholesterol levels, lipids and triglycerides, and therefore, the risk of heart disease, the No. 1 cause of death worldwide.

Since 2009, Atorvastatin has been produced by the Novatex Laboratories company, and is distributed in all hospitals and selected community drugstores.

The Cuban-made drug is a top seller worldwide, has never been imported, and is very expensive on the world market, Diaz said.

Since its development, the medicine has contributed over five million pesos in income in Cuba, and its export has brought income of 10 million convertible pesos (CUC), she noted.

CIDEM won the 2010 National Technology Innovation Award, conferred by the Cuban Academy of Sciences, for its development of Atorvastatina.
(Prensa Latina)