• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 08 / 23 / 2011

---

Just as Ecuador announced it was seeking to buy up to $1.5 billion of pharmaceutical products in Cuba, media reports say the Namibian government is returning a $2.5 million batch of Cuban-made vaccines to Cuba.

Highlighting some of the challenges Cuba faces when entering new markets, Namibia is sending 600,000 doses of Heberpenta vaccines back to Havana, saying it didn’t know the vaccines were not on the World Health Organization (WHO) list of pre-qualified medicine, Namibian newspapers reported.

In 2010, the Namibian government decided to buy a specific percentage of medical products from Cuba, to diversify its supplier base. Namibia had previously bought a pentavalent vaccine from the South African subsidiary of Glaxo Smith Kline, but the pharma giant had not responded to requests late last year, when supplies were running low, the health minister said. Namibia then put out bids, and Cuba’s Heberpenta turned out to be the lowest.

The pentavelent vaccine for children, registered in Cuba since 2006, has been used by Argentina, Venezuela and other countries. Produced and marketed by state company Heber Biotec S.A., Heberpenta prevents difteria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B. A mix of two widely used vaccines, according to the company Web site, Heberpenta “has demonstrated proven efficacy during its use with children, and is backed up by the application of best practices in production.”

Early this year, after finding out that Heberpenta wasn’t on the WHO list, the Namibian health ministry brought in Cuban experts to discuss whether Namibia could swap the vaccines for WHO-approved vaccines. Because a swap could not be made, Namibia donated the batch of vaccines back to Cuba.

Health Minister Richard Kamwi defended the donation saying the $2.5 million loss for Namibia doesn’t compare to the help Cuba has provided.

“The .. donation is nothing compared to the assistance Cuba is rendering to Namibia,” Kamwi said, according to the Windhoek Observer. “Let us not forget what Cuba has done for this country during the liberation struggle … [and] even after independence.”

Prime Minister Nahas Angula, according to the newspaper, instructed the health minister to “look into the matter” and file a report.

Source: /www.cubastandard.com/2011/08/22/namibia-returning-vaccines-to-cuba/