Cuba Has a Lung Cancer Vaccine, and it Might Finally Hit the Global Market

A first-of-its-kind lung cancer vaccine that’s been freely available in Cuba may finally reach American shores in the near future.

CimaVax EGF, a result of Cuba’s exceptional commitment to medical research and biotech over the past 20 years, is one of the most promising anti-cancer drugs currently available anywhere in the world.

Though it doesn’t prevent lung cancer, it significantly helps patients who are already living with the illness. It can extend the life of people with advanced lung cancer, without the side-effects of chemotherapy, by producing tumour-reducing antibodies.

According to Roswell Park Cancer Institute researcher Dr. Kelvin Lee, the drug’s potential is incredibly promising beyond lung cancer treatment as well: “There’s good reason to believe that this vaccine may be effective in both treating and preventing several types of cancer, including not only lung but breast, colorectal, head-and-neck, prostate and ovarian cancers, so the potential positive impact of this approach could be enormous.”

Recognizing that Cuba has developed some of the most advanced and effective methods to potentially cure cancer, and following Obama’s lifting of a half-century embargo between the Caribbean country and the United States, leading American researchers are rushing to begin Climavax trials within a year.

FDA approval following the trials would be the next step in granting Americans, and presumably Canadians, access to the drug, which only costs the government about $1 per shot to administer.