CIGB Mariel S.A., a treasure in difficult times

"They have a treasure in their hands and we are going to continue creating treasures like that," Army General Raúl Castro Ruz assured managers and workers of the CIGB Mariel SA Industrial Biotechnological Complex, inaugurated in the Mariel Special Development Zone, considered the most modern of Cuba and one of the most advanced in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Impressive from the outside, this new complex is the most important investment made in the Mariel and the first high-tech work established in the Area. It belongs to the BioCubaFarma Business Group and is designed with the highest standards of good laboratory and drug manufacturing practices.

His opening ceremony, after 57 months of execution, was attended this Monday morning by the leader of the Revolution, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz; the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez; the prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz; the Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez; several members of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party; as well as other vice prime ministers and ministers.

The Head of State, when speaking, highlighted that CIGB Mariel S.A. It is the result of an investment designed by technologists and engineers on the island, financed with 100% Cuban capital, following instructions from the Army General.

«The creation of this first business, of the three established in the biotechnology branch in the Zone, was approved by the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers on the 1st. July 2016, and in December of that same year the difficult earth movement began, "he said.

Díaz-Canel referred to the use in its construction of a novel modular system, which allowed the assembly times to be significantly shortened. These facilities, he said, comply with international standards for good pharmaceutical manufacturing practices.

«Here, novel vaccines and drugs will be investigated, developed and produced for the treatment of diseases that constitute the main health problems in Cuba and in the world, such as cancer, diabetes, autoimmune, infectious, cerebrovascular diseases and COVID-19 . We are talking about the Abdala vaccine, Jusvinza, new formulations of Heberprot-P, and Heberferon, among other well-known drugs ».

In its first stage, the president explained, the complex has an active pharmaceutical ingredient plant, and another for formulation, filling and packaging for the finished liquid and lyophilized forms; Likewise, it has a modern infrastructure of quality control laboratories, cold rooms, auxiliary and critical equipment and systems.

In a second stage, it is planned to put into operation another plant of active pharmaceutical ingredient with superior fermentation capacity, a pilot plant for clinical trials of innovation and development, the installation of equipment for the finished forms: spray, pre-filled syringes, powdered solids, suppositories and a new nanovesicle formulation, Díaz-Canel explained.

The President of the Republic also mentioned that CIGB Mariel S.A. More than 400 workers from the provinces of Havana and Artemisa will be employed, most of them young professionals with high qualifications and high commitment.

In the investment, he detailed, dozens of companies participated, including the Mariel Construction and Assembly, BioCubaFarma and the Business System of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. "The two forces that come together to deliver this work to the people, the Grupo Empresarial de las far and BioCubaFarma, make us proud and encourage," he said.

The Head of State alluded to the day chosen for the inauguration, just eight years after the Mariel Special Development Zone opened its doors to foreign investment, in the context of the 2013 Havana International Fair.

From that moment, he considered, this megaproject was destined to become an important driver of our development. The impressive structures that we see growing here confirm the expectations of that time. "Neither the COVID-19 pandemic, nor the opportunistic resurgence of the United States blockade, have been able to interrupt its growth, which today marks a milestone."

Its development and business program until 2042, as well as the amount of investment committed in this economic enclave, which amounts to more than 3 billion dollars, are strong reasons to look to the future from its modern properties, said Díaz-Canel.

In the Special Zone, with about 465 square kilometers, Cuban companies and 21 countries coexist, which together have generated more than 15,000 jobs. It has 61 approved businesses, including 31 totally foreign capital companies, 16 mixed companies, 11 totally Cuban. Today it has 34 businesses in operation and the most represented sectors are industry, logistics, transportation, construction, the food industry, energy and biotechnology.

At the end of the event, Raúl and Díaz-Canel, along with other leaders, toured impressive areas of the Biotechnology Complex, including the quality control and molecular biology laboratory, as well as the production and filling plants, where - according to The president of BioCubaFarma, Eduardo Martínez Díaz, had reported at the inauguration - before the end of 2021 the manufacturing process of the first batches of Abdala will begin, and in 2022 the introduction of eight new products is planned.