The French company Seppic, a supplier of chemicals to health, has mantained about 20 years of agreements with Cuba, particularly in the production of the adjuvant used in the vaccine Cimavax-EGF, an expert said.

Stephan Ascarateil, a Seppic executive, told Prensa Latina that the injectable emulsion -developed by the Cuban Center of Molecular Immunology (CIM)- contains the molecule of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF), which along with oil adjuvant, form a therapeutic vaccine.

This oil protects the antigen and allows to activate the immune response in patients with advanced lung cancer, said the expert during the V International Workshop Cimavax-EGF taking place at the Palace of Conventions in Havana.

Currently the compound is used in five clinical trials in phase III, two in Japan, two in Europe and one in Cuba, without having reported any complications, he said.

In several years of research, the vaccine has been tested in about 80 trials and administered to 15,000 patients from different countries of the world, said Ascarateil.

On the other hand, Dr. Agustin Lage, Director General of the CIM, opened the event with a lecture in which he provided an update on the current situation of cancer and the use of therapeutic vaccines as a possible and efficient treatment for this condition.

He said that globally, of all patients with malignant tumors, approximately three percent receive some form of immunotherapy, and the prediction is that this type of therapy reaches 60 percent over the next decade.

“Today the question is not whether immunotherapy is effective or not, but for how long and in which patients it should be applied”, stated the scientist.

This 2015 Seppic reaches 20 years of clinical experience with CIMAvax-EGF, hence the scientific forum offers an excellent opportunity to discuss its achievements and approach new strategies, such as its implementation in medical practice, new indications and therapeutic combinations (Prensa Latina).