During the ceremony held this morning with the presence of First Vice President Es’hagh Jahangiri, Minister of Health Hassan Hashemi as well as a number of senior managers of Food and Drug Administration, a recombinant drugs production unit was opened at the Pharmaceutical Development Center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
Some 70 types of medicines that have entered the country’s pharmaceutical market since President Rouhani took office in 2013 were introduced during the ceremony.
Dr. Ali Jafarian, Rector of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, said the Pharmaceutical Development Center was established in 2003 and 21 companies work for the center, with 8 of them currently active, and 19 companies having requested to join the center.
“22 pharmaceutical products have been released on the market by this center, and at least 10 new products will be introduced by the end of this year,” he said.
First Vice President Es’hagh Jahangiri, noted the production of a new medicine every two months as a significant source of pride for the country, adding “we call on elites and experts who can play a part in introducing and promoting the culture of efficiency for help so that the production costs will drop and the quality of the products and the country’s competitiveness in international markets will increase.”
In May 2015, Akbar Abdollahi-Asl, Iranian Food and Drug Administration's deputy for supervision and planning, said the Islamic Republic was now a producer of recombinant drugs that were previously produced only by some developed countries.
In February 2015, Iran unveiled its first indigenous tubular centrifuge to accelerate production of recombinant medicines, including vaccines.
The Islamic Republic has produced a wide range of pharmaceutical drugs for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, infection and depression.
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