Iran makes four new chemotherapy agents

Iranians have recently inaugurated the production line of four oral chemotherapy agents for the first time in the country.

“The Iran-made chemotherapy agents including imatinib, capecitabine, exemestane and methotrexate are as effective as their original versions but less pricey,” Deputy Minister of Health for Foods and Drugs Ahmad Sheibani told IRIB.

These drugs are used to treat blood, intestine and breast malignancies. Methotrexate not only has anti-cancer properties but also lowers the immune system’s response in patients receiving transplants.

Sheibani stressed that some 96 percent of the drugs used in Iran are made in the country; the price of the remaining 4 percent, however, accounts for some 40 percent of the whole medication.

The Deputy Minister of Health for Foods and Drugs announced that imatinib and capecitabine are going to hit the Iranian market from today and the next week, correspondingly.