The general manager of the Drugs Supervision Office of Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education told the reporters that Iran is totally self-sufficient in radiopharmaceuticals boasting the 40 different kinds of pharmaceutics produced in Pars Isotope Company.
Singling out three very frequent radiopharmaceuticals, Pirsalehi referred to Metastron, Iodine-131, and Technetium-99m which are all produced in Iran.
Metastron is a radiopharmaceutical used for bone pain secondary to metastatic bone cancer.
Technetium-99m is a metastable nuclear isomer of technetium-99 that is used in tens of millions of medical diagnostic procedures annually, making it the most commonly used medical radioisotope.
Loosely and nonspecifically called radioiodine, iodine-131 (131I) is an important radioisotope of iodine used in nuclear medicine therapeutically and can also be seen with diagnostic scanners if it has been used therapeutically. Use of the 131I as iodide salt exploits the mechanism of absorption of iodine by the normal cells of the thyroid gland. Examples of its use in radiation therapy are those where tissue destruction is desired after iodine uptake by the tissue.