Iran Producing 95% of Needed Pharmaceuticals, President Says

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in the early years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country used to produce 25 percent of the needed pharmaceuticals but now the figure has reached 95 percent.

Addressing an open session of the parliament on Monday, Rouhani said today, Iran’s problems in providing medicines needed inside the country have been resolved.

Right after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, 25% of the needed pharmaceuticals were produced domestically and the remaining 75% were supplied from abroad, he noted.

But today, the president added, 95% of the medicines are produced inside the country and only 5% of them are imported.

Currently, Iran exports drugs to neighboring and non-neighboring countries and even to Europe, Rouhani went on to say.

Back in November, the Middle East’s biggest pharmaceutical factory specializing in the production of anticancer drugs was inaugurated in Iran.

As the US sanctions against Iran have made it difficult for the people of the country to have access to some medications such as anticancer drugs, the factory is providing a wide range of such medicines for patients.

Iranian experts have in recent years made great headways in using modern medical technology to cure a broad range of diseases inside the country, making Iran a top destination for medical tourism.

Back in 2015, Iran unveiled a rare drug named “Sitagliptin” that treats diabetes type 2 and has been produced by the country’s medical experts under the trade name “Ziptin”.

Previously, a German company had a monopoly on the drug, but Iran broke the monopoly by launching the production line of the medicine.