Opportunities for medical advances with Cuba

Bioscience opportunities abound

In this time of rapidly evolving changes in relations between the United States and Cuba, there are tremendous opportunities for business. And there may be no greater area of opportunity for Cuba-Tampa Bay relations than in bioscience and medicine.

Tampa Bay has one of the most sophisticated and advanced medical and bioscience communities in the nation. One way to strengthen the region's medical and biotech industry is to collaborate with Cuba. As a past board chair of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, I led several delegations to Cuba to discuss issues of importance to both sides, including transportation, culture, business and medicine. During those trips, I saw firsthand the many ways in which Cuba is advancing medical technology.

Researchers in Cuba have developed a promising lung cancer treatment and vaccine, known as CimaVax, that's been available to Cuban citizens since 2011. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's trip to Cuba in 2015 led to an agreement to bring CimaVax to the United States, and U.S. facilities are evaluating the treatment for use here.

Last year, Cuba also became the first country to receive World Health Organization validation that it had eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. The WHO director-general called the development "one of the greatest public health achievements possible."

But current restrictions are holding Cuba back from making even more medical progress. Because of the U.S. embargo against Cuba and other restrictions in this country and in Cuba, Cuban medical institutions are sometimes unable to get crucial equipment, parts and pharmaceuticals.

Since we're geographically close to Cuba, scientists and doctors from the Tampa Bay area could travel to Havana to meet with Cuban experts and work together on studies, research projects and other health advances. Residents, fellows and doctors from Cuba could travel here for classes, professional training and continuing education. And since Tampa Bay is a center for state-of-the-art medical care, we could also play host to patients from Cuba seeking specialized treatments.

Cuba is a country of over 11 million people. It's foolish to shut ourselves off to the many medical opportunities that exist. Let's start 2017 by fostering more engagement between the medical industry in Tampa Bay and Cuba by exchanging research, data and information. These partnerships are about treating people, curing diseases and overall public health. They are issues that should have no boundaries, geographic or political. We can't let politics stand in the way of medical progress.

Ronald A. Christaldi, Tampa

The writer was 2015 chair of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce. He is a business lawyer with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP. This article appeared in the Tampa Bay Times.