Bolivia Produces its First Cancer Drug 

Bolivia is entering a new stage in the fight against cancer, President Luis Arce announced Thursday, after presenting the country’s first-ever cancer drug produced within Bolivia, by state-owned facilities. Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) helps detect early diagnosis of cancer, thereby allowing early intervention. 

“As of today, Bolivia produces its own pharmaceuticals, we no longer need to import (..) we are now producing pharmaceuticals that are increasingly specialized for the fight against cancer,” said President Arce as he presented the first batch made at the Cyclotron Radiopharmacy Preclinical complex, installed in District 8 of the city of El Alto.

The President explained that the drugs will be distributed by the Nuclear Medicine Research centers, state facilities that were built with the Russian investment, to all health centers across the country and will be available for free on the country’s universal insurance system. 

The pharmaceuticals are used in equipment such as SPECT/CT (single photon emission computed tomography) and PET/CT (positron emission tomography) to diagnose different parts of the body, allowing for the precise detection of, for example, cancerous cells and affected tissue.

President Arce added, “the deaths of family members and friends, who in other circumstances could not access timely detection, will be reduced”. 

FDG could also be exported abroad, the director of the research center that produced this, Rodny Batuani, says that there is already interest from Brazil and Argentina who are seeking to import this drug for their populations.

By Kawsachun News

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