(12 Nov 2005)

1. Exterior of "Centre for Synthetic Antigen Studies"
2. Sign: "Centro de Estudios de Antigenos Sinteticos"
3. Various of biologists in laboratory handling test tubes
4. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Vicente Verez Bencomo, Cuban Scientist:
"It's very surprising. What I have done for the past 15 years of my life is develop a vaccine to save children's lives. It's surprising. I don't understand how disseminating a vaccine to save children can be detrimental to the interests of the United States."
5. Various of biologists working with lab equipment
6. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Vicente Verez Bencomo, Cuban Scientist:
"Maybe the problem isn't in having discovered a vaccine for children, but having discovered it in Cuba. Maybe that's why they denied my visa. These are speculations. I really don't understand the reason. For me it's irrational. I think denying me the visa has created more noise than if they had allowed me to collect my prize and give my conference."
7. Verez Bencomo walking through lab

STORYLINE:

A Cuban scientist who helped develop a low-cost synthetic vaccine that prevents meningitis and pneumonia in small children said on Friday that he was offended by the U.S. government's denial of his request to travel to the United States to receive an award.

Vicente Verez-Bencomo was asked to accept the award recognising his team's technological achievement during ceremony on Wednesday at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California.

He had also been scheduled on Friday to address a gathering of the Society of Glycobiology in Boston Massachusetts.

Verez-Bencomo said the U.S. State Department denied him a visa because the visit would be "detrimental to the interests of the United States."

Verez-Bencomo said: "Maybe the problem isn't in having discovered a vaccine for children, but having discovered it in Cuba. Maybe that's why they denied my visa. These are speculations. I really don't understand the reason. For me it's irrational."

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