Trouble on Calle Ocho

Decisions on which drugs should be available to the American public should be up to the Food and Drug Administration, but since everything regarding Cuba is political, there is politics involved in the possibility that a new Cuban drug could become available for prescription here.

The drug is Heberprot, a medication developed in Cuba for injection in diabetes patients to prevent leg amputations.  The issue that will come before our government is whether Heberprot can be submitted to clinical trials in the United States to test its safety and efficacy.

Rep. Joe Garcia supports the idea, alone among South Florida legislators.  Good for him. 

Predictably, there’s opposition from his Cuban American colleagues and silence from Rep. Wasserman Shultz, for whom foreign policy outweighs a potential benefit in the care of diabetes patients. 

Most interesting of all, President George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff, former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, is working for the company that would conduct the trials and market the drug if they are successful.

Herald coverage here.