America to Get Access to Cuba's Lung Cancer Vaccine

by Monica Joshi

Now that America has ameliorated its relationship with Cuba, America will be blessed with the possibility of a new theraputic vaccine for lung cancer. As irony of ironies has it, a country well known for its cigars has become a world pioneer for a lung cancer vaccine. Cuba's Center of Molecular Immunology has finalized agreements with the Roswell Park Cancer Institute to embark on a project to gain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and introduce the vaccine, CimaVax, in the States.

Candace Johnson, CEO of Roswell Park says that she hopes to get approval for testing the drug within six to eight months. To speed up the process with the FDA application, The Center for Molecular Immunology will give Roswell Park all of the documentation on how the drug is produced, its toxicity data, as well as results from past trials in Cuba. Johnson hopes to start clinical trials in a year. “The chance to evaluate a vaccine like this is a very exciting prospect,” Johnson says.

Cancer vaccines to date have been very expensive, however, CimaVax is comparatively cheap to produce and store. It also has less toxicity and side effects compared to other cancer vaccines. Side effects to the vaccine have so far included nausea, chills and fever.

How exactly did a country that is known for its cigars, rum and baseball become the world's pioneer for an immuno- oncology drug? Johnson notes that,

“They’ve had to do more with less, so they've become more innovative with how they approach things. For over 40 years they have had a preeminent immunology community."

They have had to be more proactive about lung cancer as it is the fourth leading cause of death in Cuba.

While it might be cheap to produce in Cuba as the average worker in Cuba earns only $20 per month, the prediction is that cost is bound to increase the moment it hits markets in the States. Cuba only spends a fraction of the money on healthcare per individual that the US does. Yet, it is significant that the average Cuban has the same life expectancy as an average American. In addition, the vaccine was given out for free in Cuba.

As of 2013, America spent about 17.4% of its GDP on national health care and per capita about $9300. In contrast, Cuba spent only 4% of the amount spent by the US per capita. According to an article in Dollars and Sense, the best explanation as to why Cubans spend less on health care is that:

"[...]the US has the most bureaucratic health care system in the world, including over 1500 different companies, each offering multiple plans, each with its own marketing program and enrollment procedures, its own paperwork and policies, its CEO salaries, sales commissions, and other non-clinical costs—and, of course, if it is a for-profit company, its profits."

In addition, at least 5.7 billion dollars was given to vaccine manufacturers by the US government in 2011 for research and development and the costs have increased since. This is not to say, however, that the research and development ought not to cost a lot as Americans distribute their funds differently than Cubans with regards to vaccine development. Since the research does cost a lot the lung cancer vaccine will be expensive post-production. It will not come as a surprise that the vaccine that costed $1 and was given for free in Cuba would end up costing a whole lot to the American population once it hits home ground.

Read more at USA Today.