Cuban Ambassador to Viet Nam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes affirmed this during a meeting between Dr Santiago Dueñas, Vice President of the Cuban state-owned biotechnology and pharmaceutical group BioCubaFarma, and several Vietnamese press agencies.
The Ambassador stated that Viet Nam will continue to strengthen cooperation with Cuba in the biomedical field, aiming to master several key technologies, in line with the spirit of Government Resolution 1131 on developing strategic technology products to serve socio-economic development.
According to the Ambassador, the results of cooperation will not only stop at Cuba transferring technology to Viet Nam, but will also open up prospects for creating new technologies directly in Viet Nam, serving healthcare needs and socio-economic development.
Over many years, Viet Nam and Cuba have maintained a deep and extensive cooperative relationship in the healthcare sector. Many Cuban vaccines, such as those for hepatitis B and meningococcal disease, have been licensed for circulation in Viet Nam, making important contributions to disease prevention.
In May last year, the two countries established the Genfarma joint venture, marking a shift from technology transfer cooperation to research, development, and commercialisation of new products.
According to Dr Santiago Dueñas, Genfarma is targeting medicines for the prevention and treatment of serious diseases such as cancer, diabetes, memory decline in the elderly, and immune deficiency. This is a project prioritised by the leaders of both countries in biomedical cooperation, with the aim of serving the healthcare needs of people in Viet Nam and Cuba.
To date, after nearly one year, Genfarma is in the process of completing investment procedures and awaiting certification for its factory located at Hoa Lac High-Tech Park. The company has 70 employees, including 11 experts from Cuba, with stable incomes.
Notably, Genfarma has registered one cancer treatment product for circulation in Viet Nam and is preparing to manufacture it domestically. This year, the joint venture will continue to receive additional new technologies and organise training for Vietnamese personnel to ensure successful technology transfer.
During the 2024–2026 period, biomedical cooperation between Viet Nam and Cuba has entered a new phase, characterised by greater substance and larger scale.
In addition to establishing the Genfarma manufacturing joint venture in Viet Nam, in October last year, the Viet Nam - Cuba Network for Agricultural Biotechnology and Natural Health was officially launched in La Habana, bringing together more than 45 research institutes, hospitals, universities, and enterprises from both countries.
Several joint research and application centres have been inaugurated, notably the collaborative research centre between CIMEQ Hospital (Cuba) and Hospital 19-8 (Ministry of Public Security), aimed at bringing advanced Cuban medical products into practical application. At the same time, training connectivity activities have also been implemented. Earlier this year, Hospital 108 worked with the Cuban Embassy to orient new cooperation in the fields of preventive medicine and biomedical development.
The two countries continue to send Vietnamese technical and management staff to Cuba to participate in short-term training courses at advanced biotechnology centres. Conversely, Cuban experts regularly travel to Viet Nam to support technical training at vaccine production facilities and quality control agencies.
