Dr. Rafael Pérez Cristiá, director of the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED), dies in Havana

June 26, 2020

On the afternoon of July 25th, Dr. Rafael Pérez Cristiá, Director of the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED) of the Ministry of Public Health, passed away as a victim of cancer.

This constitutes a painful and irreparable loss for Cuban public health and especially for the family of toxicologists, a specialty that he greatly contributed to developing in the country.

Rafael Pérez Cristiá was a Doctor in Medical Sciences with a specialty in Toxicology, and stood out for his scientific and teaching activity in the organization and creation of the Clinical Toxicology Specialty and the National Center for Toxicology (CENATOX) of Cuba, as well as serving as Founding President of the Cuban Society of Toxicology and was a Distinguished Academic of the Academy of Sciences.

In his management since 1999 as Director of the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED) to the present, he promoted, together with other directors of Medicines Regulatory Authorities in the Americas region, the idea of creating a tool for evaluating the performance of these institutions as well as the definition of National Reference Regional Authorities.

He participated in the Design for the Conduct of Clinical Trials, in the development of Pharmaceutical Surveillance of Medicines and Products for "in vitro" diagnosis as well as in the Development of Pharmaceutical Regulations in Cuba, in Central America and the Caribbean.

He held various teaching and management responsibilities.
The contribution of his knowledge to the strengthening of the medicines regulatory policy in Cuba contributed to the categorization of CECMED as a Reference National Regulatory Authority for Medicines of PAHO for the Americas and a National Regulatory Authority for Vaccines certified by WHO.

His teaching and research performance had international impact in achieving leadership of Toxicology Centers in Central America.

He was an advisor for the creation of the Toxicology Center at the University of Carabobo (CITUC), Venezuela; Visiting Professor of Clinical Toxicology and Associated Researcher at the University of Carabobo, Venezuela, Founding Honorary Member of the National Commission of Toxicology of Ecuador, Temporary Consultant PAHO/WHO and member of the Expert Committee of the WHO Global Training Network on Vaccines.

He has numerous publications in scientific journals and other teaching materials. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba since 2011 and director of the Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment and Medical Devices (CECMED) since 1999.

Dr. Pérez Cristiá was one of the experts who led the toxic-nutritional investigations during the Neuropathy epidemic in the 90s, and is also author and co-author of several books; among them the Practical Manual of Clinical Toxicology, Acute Poisonings in Emergency Medicine and Critical Care and the White Paper on the implementation of Quality Management Systems in institutions of Cuban and Bolivian Public Health.

In recognition of his research and teaching work, the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba awarded him the Carlos J. Finlay Order in 2004.