Cuba's biopharma sector strained by U.S. blockade and new oil sanctions

Cuban biotech conglomerate Biocubafarma says the United States' economic, commercial and financial blockade has plunged the island's bio‑pharmaceutical industry into its most difficult period. The company cannot obtain raw materials and has failed to deliver about 300 of the 395 medicines required for the basic health basket. It is prioritising emergency drugs such as serum and haemodialysis supplies, while the cost of importing generic‑drug precursors exceeds $250 million. Export revenues from innovative biotech products are being used to sustain domestic production, and the group is expanding cooperation with China, Vietnam and Russia, including a new line for cancer‑treating cytostatics.

Italian MPs from the Five Star Movement have denounced the U.S. measures in the Italian parliament, calling the blockade a "terrorist act" and urging the Italian government to adopt a clear stance in the UN and EU. They highlighted the island's dire energy shortages, hospital crises and lack of food and medicine.

U.S. sanctions against the state oil firm CUPET have deepened the energy embargo, causing widespread power outages, fuel scarcity and disruptions to transport, food distribution and medical supplies. Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla warned that the petroleum chokehold is punishing the entire population, citing 15,000 tons of rice stranded in transit and roughly half of recent domestic drug production remaining undelivered. The combined economic pressure is intensifying a humanitarian crunch across Cuba.