Cuba’s state biotechnology and pharmaceutical conglomerate BioCubaFarma is expanding scientific and technical cooperation with Russia in developing new drugs and vaccines under a long‑standing alliance. The partners have established their first joint venture in the pharmaceutical sector. The new entity was created under a long‑term scientific and technical alliance between the parties that has been in place since 2016, said Eulogio Pimentel, vice president of the Cuban corporation.
The joint venture is designed not only to supply finished Cuban drugs but also to adapt them to Russian healthcare requirements, with a view to localising production, Pimentel said. Details of the legal structure and share distribution have not yet been disclosed. Specific operating parameters and the first products to be launched will be announced after the organisational phase is completed.
According to Pimentel, four Cuban drugs are most in demand on the Russian market: Heberprot‑P for diabetic foot, Hebermin, a wound‑healing gel, Cimavax, a vaccine against non‑small cell lung cancer, and Jusvinza, an immunomodulatory agent with anti‑inflammatory properties that was widely used for COVID‑19 and is currently being tested for residual arthritis after chikungunya fever.
The creation of the first joint venture with Russia is seen by the Cuban side as a key mechanism for commercialising these developments beyond the island and as a tool to strengthen bilateral cooperation in high‑tech biotechnology.
BioCubaFarma has been collaborating with the Skolkovo innovation centre since September 2016, and in July 2024, the centre’s expert council approved five of BioCubaFarma’s pharmacological projects. All of these are innovative drugs with no global equivalents. In January 2026, the holding’s management reported the implementation of more than 400 research projects in 2025.
It became known in 2025 that the Cuban government was planning to organise joint production of unique medicines with Russia. At that time, it was reported that Cuba was prepared to provide production technology to Russian specialists on condition that Russian drugs be registered and allowed onto the Cuban market.