While President Barack Obama’s Dec. 17 announcement to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba does not lift the trade embargo, it does put U.S. research intuitions one step closer to establishing partnerships with their Cuban counterparts.
Over the past three decades, Cuban biotechnology efforts have resulted in the production and commercialization of a variety of vaccines, medications and therapeutic products that could be beneficial to the U.S. as well as research centers and institutions such as NC State.
According to Ruben Carbonell, a professor of chemical engineering and a Cuban native, the research being conducted in Cuba has the potential to greatly benefit faculty and student research in areas such as the College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, College of Engineering and NC State’s biotechnology program.
“The Cuban medical establishment has always been very strong, even before the revolution,” Carbonell said. “When Castro came to power, the population had a lot of medical problems, and in the absence of cash with which to buy medicines, Cuba decided they were on their own. They created their own infrastructure, their own institutes and their own research centers.”
In addition to aiding research in the U.S., the economic status in Cuba could benefit from the partnerships.
“Currently, these products are owned by the Cuban government, and therefore not profit-driven,” Carbonell said. “If investors in the U.S. begin to get interested in products that are developed by some of the centers in Cuba, I can see the Cubans basically licensing them out to American companies to make a profit.”
According to Carbonell, Cuba has 30 vaccines for infectious disease as well as 30 oncology products that are either in the world market or under investigation.
“Their research centers and institutions are known worldwide, and I would say this research is the highlight of what Cuba does,” Carbonell said.
However, for research partnerships to happen between the U.S. and Cuba in the biotechnical field, a number of steps need to be taken.
Nicholas Robins, a professor of history and the head of the Cuban study abroad program at NC State, said that until the embargo on Cuba is lifted, any kind of scientific collaboration with the U.S. is highly unlikely.
“Any collaboration cannot be seen as a service or having commercial purpose, and since all of the biotech market is run by the government, any partnership would be seen upon as such,” Robins said.
In addition to lifting the embargo, Carbonell believes that making long term stays in Cuba easier as well as finding a way to have Cuban students come to the U.S. to study is essential to successful biotechnical research partnerships.
“I can imagine, NC State —being a university driven by a very practical way of looking at things— could be a really good place for students from Cuba to come,” Carbonell said.
Carbonell also said that he would not hesitate to send his students to Cuba to participate in research.
“I can certainly envision Cuban institutions having a major impact on faculty and students from North Carolina, and particularly NC State,” Carbonell said. “It would give them a perspective on research that they haven’t seen before.”
