Other Names: CIB
Address: PO Box 6162
La Habana, Cuba
Subordinate to: n/a
Director: n/a
Size: n/a
History: The CIB was founded in January 1982, shortly after Fidel Castro established the "Biological Front." Initially, CIB's primary objective was to produce interferon, probably as a result of the catastrophic 1981 dengue virus outbreak, first as an anti-viral agent, then later as a "model" for further developing Cuba's biotechnology and bioprocessing sector.

Description:
The center became involved in recombinant DNA research during the 1980s, following its success at developing methods for producing interferon. From 1982 through 1986, researchers "gained experience in enlarging the scale of fermentation and purification of biomolecules." In the mid-1980s, scientists achieved success in working with gene manipulation, molecular virology, immunochemistry, and tissue cultures. By 1986, CIB had been divided into four different laboratories: genetic engineering, immunology, chemistry, and fermentation. According to a UN University publication, current (as of 1994) CIB research includes synthesis of oligonucleotides, cloning and expression of a number of other genes, and production of monoclonal antibodies. Other researchers at CIB are focused on immunology, immunochemistry, protein purification, and fermentation.

According to Charles Cooper of the UN University, CIB was a major beneficiary of imported Soviet scientific techniques, and many of its researchers were trained in the USSR. Most had a significant education in organic chemistry and were able to adapt this knowledge to the performance of recombinant DNA research.

Additional Information: Following the creation of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), CIB was merged with CIGB, becoming a branch research office in Havana.

Key Sources: Charles Cooper (ed.), Technology and Innovation in the International Economy (Maastricht, Holland: Edward Elgar, United Nations University Press, 1994), p. 2.4.4; Manuel Limonta, "Biotechnology and the Third World: Development Strategies in Cuba," Biomedical Science and the Third World, ed., Barry Bloom and Anthony Cerami, (New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1989), pp. 325-333; M. Elderhorst, "Will Cuba's biotechnology capacity survive the socio-economic crisis?" Biotechnology and Development Monitor, No. 20, pp. 11-13, 22.

	Updated February 2004