At the end of the 1980s Cuba was hard hit by the unexpected sudden dissolution of the Soviet Union and the socialist market. The substantial resilience of the Cuban scientific system in the face of this event, despite unavoidable setbacks, confirmed its achieved autonomy. What seems remarkable is that even in this extremely critical economic situation the Cuban government once again confirmed its support for science as a strategic choice. And up to now this has proved a trump card. True, several scientific sectors had to be downsized or redirected, but for health biotechnology unconditional support was confirmed and even reinforced. Incorporation in the unprotected global market has raised new challenges. These are not only of an economic nature but also involve, for instance, rights to intellectual property, which in Cuba remains social. Today biotechnology represents Cuba’s third source of hard currency, with healthcare products and services representing a major island’s export potential. In the end we can say that the success of a small country with limited resources in a typically American-dominated, capital-intensive field like biotechnology is probably Cuba’s most remarkable and enduring achievement. © 2016, The Author(s).

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