Fico: Treatment of Diabetic Foot with Cuban Drug Brings First Results

Fico: Treatment of Diabetic Foot with Cuban Drug Brings First Results

Presov, October 6 (TASR) – The treatment of diabetic foot with the Cuban drug Heberprot-P at the J. A. Reiman Faculty Hospital with Polyclinic in Presov has brought the first positive results, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said at a press conference at the Presov hospital.

“We’ve brought this drug from Cuba as part of settling the Cuban debt, and I’m pleased to state today that we have three facilities applying this drug. I can confirm that this cooperation is very good and frequently patients themselves ask for this treatment,” said Fico, adding that he wouldn’t rule out an increase in the distribution of the Cuban drug in Slovakia in the future.

Fourteen patients were placed in a pilot study in Presov, including diabetics who had unhealed lesions for years.

“We began in June and we cured eight patients within eight weeks. They were taken to hospital at first, we gave three doses of the medicine to them and subsequently we released them for home treatment, which will continue for several weeks. After the defect is healed, they’ll remain supervised for another period of time,” said vascular diseases surgeon Marian Lesko, adding that 160 packages of the medicine were used.

The Cuban drug is being applied to patients also at the Bratislava University Hospital and the National Endocrinology and Diabetology Institute in Lubochna (Zilina region).

Heberprot-P isn’t registered in the EU, with Slovakia being the first country in the Union to use the medicine. According to information obtained by TASR, 7,000 doses of the drug should be imported to Slovakia. The treatment of Slovak patients is being supervised by Cuban experts, as the drug must be applied directly into the patients’ lesions.

“Results from abroad and Cuba suggest that 70 percent of patients are saved from amputation,” TASR was told recently by Jorge Berlanga, a Cuban expert who took part in the drug’s development.