ST. JOHN’S, Antigua – The Antigua and Barbuda government says it has reached a deal with United States-based company for the sale of the Cancer Center Eastern Caribbean (CCEC).
Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that the facility, which had been closed since April 2023, had been sold for EC$13 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) to the un-named North American entity.
In May last year, the government passed a resolution to compulsory buy the CCEC after its owner, Dr Conville Browne had written to the government a few months earlier indicating that he planned to close the facility due to a lack of funds.
“We acquired the building, not the equipment, and the value that has always been placed on the building was that amount. There is an entity out of North America that is involved in the health space”, he said, adding that the new owners have a number of novel cancer treatments, and they will provide these services here.
“In addition, they have some products that will be exported throughout the region from St. John’s, and that cancer centre services are now likely to become an export product for the Caribbean region,” he said.
Browne said that the government took significant steps to support the local healthcare system and that the cost of treatment at the cancer center for locals has been capped at US$12,000.00 per person, with the government guaranteeing the underwriting of this cost.
The new figure is an increase on the previous cap of US$10,000.00 that Browne said said was insufficient to cover the costs, particularly that of electricity.
He said as a result, the government has agreed to allocate additional funds to cover the expenses of each patient receiving treatment at the facility.
