Iran produces 97% of its domestic medicine

The Iranian Health Minister has said that the country produces 97 percent of its own medicine and imports only 3 percent of its pharmaceuticals.

“Iran is producing 97 percent of the prescribed and non-prescribed medicine needed in the country. We are importing no more than 3 percent of medicine (needed domestically) to Iran,” Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi told IRIB.

“The Health Ministry is planning to gain full independence in the field and cover that small portion,” Iran’s minister of health added.

A total of nine major drug companies are producing the ingredients for 170 types of medicine in Iran.

“Imported medicine costs 5-to-10 times more than medicine produced domestically. The health ministry aims to cover the existing gap and save large amounts of funds,” Dastjerdi noted.