Iran’s burgeoning biotech industry:
36 drugs, vaccines produced, with more on the way
A member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Medical Biotechnology Products of Iran announced that 36 types of biotechnology drugs and vaccines have been produced in the country, with an additional 15 in the research and development stage. Fereidoun Mahboudi made the announcement on Wednesday at the third conference of medical biotechnology products and related industries at the Olympic Hotel.
Mahboudi highlighted that the production of biotech drugs in Iran has resulted in four billion dollars of foreign exchange savings and expects the global sale of biotech drugs to reach 900 billion dollars by 2030. Currently, 45 companies are active in the production of biotech drugs in Iran, with the past two decades considered the golden era for the country’s biotech drug industry, according to IRNA.
The Biotechnology Medical Committee has been present in the Ministry of Health since 1996, and Mahboudi anticipates the revival of the High Council of Biotechnology within the ministry. He emphasized the importance of continued support for the biotech drug industry to ensure access and affordability of medicines for the Iranian people.
Seyyed Heider Mohammadi, head of the Food and Drug Organization, announced at the conference that the Central Bank has ordered operating banks to pay 30 thousand billion tomans (more than one million dollars) of working capital to pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies. Mohammadi acknowledged the importance of biotech drugs and the need to support the pharmaceutical industry to ensure easier access to medicines for the public.
During a recent trip to Russia, Iranian advances in biotechnology were met with surprise, prompting efforts to reduce insurance debts to pharmaceutical companies. Mohammadi stated that more than 90 percent of the problems faced by the Food and Drug Organization are external, and their duty is to facilitate and accelerate processes while working with other institutions.