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A Cuban drug that fights lung cancer may soon make its way to the United States.
President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to the island — the first by a U.S. president in 88 years — may accelerate the process to approve a cancer vaccine, CimaVax, into the U.S. market. Cubans have had access to the drug for free since 2011; producing it only costs a dollar.
The Rosewell Park Cancer Institute announced it would begin testing the drug last year, but the Federal Drugs Administration has a long process for final approval.
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“We want to be the gateway with the Cubans. As this progresses, this will be available to everyone,” said Dr. Candace Johnson, CEO of the institute.
The drug is mostly used to prevent cancer from growing and coming back, and its success rate has been “striking,” according to the Rosewell Park Cancer Institute. Cuba has researched the drug for the past 25 years, and in December began trials to treat stage 2 and 3 lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, which has some of the highest rates of cancer in the world. Cuba has lower rates of the cancer, but it has been leading cancer research worldwide. Its different approach is to not develop cures, but rather vaccines and therapies that could make the cancer a manageable chronic disease and vastly lengthen life expectancy.
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