Venezuela agreed to put Cuba in charge of medical purchases for an
expansion of the South American country's pharmaceutical industry,
Telesur reported.
One of 12 health-related agreements signed during a meeting of the
bilateral commission in Havana puts the Cuban government in charge of
purchases for the construction of pharmaceutical manufacturing
facilities in the South American country, Venezuelan Health Minister
Eugenia Sader said.
The bilateral commission agreed Dec. 19 on 47 joint projects worth $1.6
billion, including in energy and agriculture. Neither government
released any details.
As part of an effort to substitute medical imports, Venezuela's Servicio
Autónomo de Elaboraciones Farmaceúticas (Sefar) announced last year it
was planning to build a joint venture plant with Cuba for various basic
drugs, and a joint venture plant with Portugal for antibiotics.
According to the Sefar Website, the state institution is planning to
produce Atenolol, Vitamin C, Ethambutol, Ibuprofene, Loratadine and
other drugs.
Sader was in Europe in early December to coordinate purchases for the
project. The health ministry plans to begin some production as early as
May 2012, she said.
This is not the first time Cuba is in charge of medical purchases for
Venezuela. Among others, Venezuela relied on Cuban expertise for
hundreds of millions of dollars worth of purchases for the Barrio
Adentro medical program and the Misión Milagro eye surgery program.
http://www.cubastandard.com/2011/12/20/venezuela-puts-cuba-in-charge-of-medical-purchases/
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