Cuban Drug Heberprot-P receives Authorization for Clinical Trial in the U.S.

A drug developed by Cuba could soon rescue millions of patients in the United States suffering the consequences of diabetes.

A U.S. company received approval from government regulatory agencies here to begin the final stage of clinical trials of a drug developed in Cuba by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), called Heberprot-P, which will potentially save the lives of people with diabetic foot ulcers.

More than 37 million Americans live with diabetes and it is estimated that up to 34 percent of them will suffer from diabetic foot ulcers. Some 154,000 patients with diabetic foot ulcers that cannot heal undergo amputations. Nearly half of the patients who undergo lower extremity amputation related to diabetic foot ulcers do not survive more than five years, explains Dr. Charles Zelen, an expert on the subject. He adds that U.S. military veterans and African-Americans have a high probability of death as a result of these amputation