Cuba will test anti-AIDS vaccines on people

On March 6, Cuba's leading biotechnologists successfully tested a new vaccine against Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) on mice and are ready to experiment on humans.

"The new AIDS vaccine has been successfully tested on mice and now we will conduct a new, small-scale, tightly controlled trial on HIV-positive patients who are not in the final stages of the disease." Enrique Iglesias study said.

Iglesias, the leader of the vaccine development team at the Gene Biotechnology and Transformation Center (CIGB), spoke at the Havana 2012 International Biotechnology Conference, which began March 5 in the Cuban capital.

Cuba is ready to test HIV vaccine on human body

He told the crowd at the conference that the TERAVAC-HIV-1 vaccine is made of proteins that are combined to create "cellular-level response to HIV virus".

However, he also said that one should not expect too much on the success of the program.

"So far there have been more than 100 human body trials involving HIV in Cuba and many other countries, with all of them failing," Iglesias said.

Cuba has spent more than $ 200 million a year on the AIDS program, including giving away free antiviral drugs to people with H.

CIGB, which brings together the top 20 research units in Havana, is the driving force behind Cuba's main export activity: biotech products including vaccines and other drugs.

The country has earned more than $ 400 million annually through these products and they are the second most valuable export item in Cuba, just behind nickel.

About 600 scientists from 38 countries around the world participated in the event, including Nobel laureate chemist Peter Agre, who is also a doctor and molecular biologist.