Jorge Gavilondo Cowley Dies, One of the Founders of Cuban Biotechnology

January 16, 2021

Dr. Jorge Víctor Gavilondo Cowley, one of the main Cuban scientists of the second half of the twentieth century and one of the protagonists in the construction of the biotechnology sector, passed away this Thursday.

From his hands came the first monoclonal antibodies obtained in Cuba in 1981, among them ITOLIZUMAB, today well known for its success in treating severe patients with COVID19.

Jorge was born in Chicago in 1949 to Cuban parents and lived in Havana, Cuba, from his early childhood. Here he graduated with a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Havana in 1972 and began his professional life as a scientist at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology (INOR), where he progressed from the radiobiology laboratory to the directorship of the Department of Biology, and was a very active member of that institution's Scientific Council.

His first investigations were on lymphomas and the proliferation of higher cells in culture. He was the author of the first articles from INOR published in widely circulated international journals. He represented Cuba at several international meetings for cancer research.

He had the foresight to identify monoclonal antibodies as one of the main areas of development in biotechnology. That is the reason why at such an early date and before the technique became generalized throughout the world, antibodies were already obtained in Cuba in 1981 and taken to clinical trials. His professional experience included a broad field that encompassed cellular and molecular biology, experimental immunology, monoclonal and recombinant antibodies, cancer vaccines, experimental oncology, cellular radiobiology, cell culture, and diagnostic systems.

Especially the assimilation of technologies for mammalian cell culture had much to do with Gavilondo's knowledge and experimental skills. He was an excellent experimenter and at the same time a profound theorist.

When the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Havana was founded in 1986, he was invited to join the Center as Head of the Division of Immunotechnology and Diagnostics and later, Immunotherapy against Cancer. Under his direction, the therapeutic vaccine against cancer HeberSaVax was obtained, based on vascular endothelial growth factor, currently in clinical trials.

Decorated with the Carlos J. Finlay Order by the Council of State, with more than 40 years of research in cancer, he published approximately 150 scientific articles, seven patents and five books, obtained 23 awards from the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, of which he was a member, and five Annual Awards from MINSAP. In his extensive teaching work he trained 14 doctors of science.

He was president of the Latin American Association of Immunology, intensely disseminated the results of Cuban biotechnology and cancer research throughout the world, and represented Cuba in many international organizations and events.

His versatile intellectual formation kept him always connected to the arts. Gavilondo was a dedicated art photographer for 30 years. His photographic portfolios are included in two dozen private art collections in Cuba, the United States, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Jorge Gavilondo always believed in science and in the possibilities of doing world-class science in Cuba. And he did it. His mark remains in the dozens of scientists he trained and in every product of immunotherapy, especially in every monoclonal antibody that comes out of Cuban laboratories his work will be present.